Hotel Rwanda is a film based on the Rwandan genocide in 1994 between the Hutus and the Tutsis. This film follows the real life events of Paul Rusesabagina, as a man who is trying to protect Rwandan refugees from the Hutu militia. As a prominent manager of the prestigious hotel de Milles Collines, Paul has many advantages in his life as a wealthy and respected man. But even though Paul is a Hutu he is still in a hard situation as his wife is a Tutsi. In hopes of protecting his family, Paul uses his hotel as a means of hiding his Tutsi friends, leading others to come to the hotel in hopes of being saved. Paul then becomes a hero to these people as he is working to protect them, while the UN peacekeeping soldiers are doing nothing to stop the Hutu militia, as well as evacuating all their troops out of Rwanda. Paul shows that one man can make a difference as he is able to save hundreds of people from slaughter by reaching out to the world in a plea for help.
Don Cheadle was incredible in this film because he was able to portray Paul very well as he actually met with the real man and learned about him. His acting was great and he really gave an emotional performance as only a man who is trying to save hundreds of lives can. Cheadle was able to make Paul into a very smooth and intelligent man who thought quickly on his feet and was able to work hard for what he believed. Real music was also used very effectively for when all the children were walking up to the hotel singing in unison. That music really added a dark feeling to the movie as although it was a very happy song, it really contrasted with what was happening in the film as it made you realize really how disgusting this violence was, as even children like the ones singing were killed.
The difference between groups was easily distinguishable thanks to the use of costumes as the Hutu militia had on colourful shirts and pants, while the Tutsi army had on army vests and equipment. Also the UN forces had the blue berets on to signify a force of aid to the country. But ultimately they were useless in their aid as no powerful country in the world wanted to risk soldiers for some silly African “civil war”, so the UN forces were just laughed at by the Hutus. The outfits of the Hutu soldiers were also very important as it showed that they believed that they were of some sort of royalty wearing such majestic clothing, but these feelings contrasted a lot when they were with machetes as it just made them look wild and crazy.
Weather was used very well when Paul and his partner had gone out to get supplies and it was too foggy to see anything and they began to run over bodies. This was important as because of the fog we were given a sense of disarray and darkness, this allowed for the shock of the sheer amount of bodies on the floor to sink in and really bring an emotional response to the audience.
Overall the I think it was a great Hollywood movie as it provided some history, but ultimately it was more about the one man’s struggle to save others with a happy ending. This movie had great acting and it was strong in its message about the international community really needing to step up, but it had little to no explanation of the history or about anything happening outside the hotel. Also the representation of Dellaire really creates a negative stigma about the efforts of the Canadian peacekeeping troops. Overall I would give this film an 8/10 and I would recommend it to all people except those who do not know anything about this genocide.
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