Name: Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004)
Genre: drama, military, biography, history
Rwanda, 1994. In the former Belgian colony, the political situation is deteriorating, and tension is growing between the two peoples inhabiting the country – Tutsi and Hutu. After Belgium left Rwanda, the conflicts between the two ethnic groups arose, and the situation took a dark turn of violence and genocide. Hotel Rwanda is a historical drama that dwells on the issue of the first world’s unforgiving ignorance towards the life of less civilized countries.
The story centers around Paul Rusesabagina, a wealthy hotel owner in Rwanda, whose hotel eventually becomes a place of safety for his family and a part of the Rwandan population. While in the beginning, the situation is seemingly controlled by the UN Peacekeeping troops, eventually, Rwanda is left to deal with genocide and war crimes on its own. Paul accepts the responsibility of using his power to save thousands of Rwanda people up until they are able to evacuate with the help of UN forces.
The motion picture is intended for a broad audience to see, as every viewer has a chance to discover the struggle of international politics and the ignorance of developing and emerging countries. The movie itself pursues the purpose to shed light on the political crisis of Rwanda and the price of international abandonment of a whole nation. Terry George, a famous Irish director, screenwriter, and a twice-Oscar nominee made Hotel Rwanda his bold artistic, political statement on the stance of human lives in the context of corrupted and picky international political games.
By presenting the story from the perspective of a Paul, George depicts the truthful facts of the Rwandan 1994 genocide in combination with emphatic fictional additions to the story. While the story itself should not be perceived as a biopic, the events in 1994 Rwanda are portrayed with exceptional preciseness. Undeniably, the motion picture does not show all the horrors of genocide, but the director does a good job of showing the most important milestones of the crisis.
Hotel Rwanda is a moving and educational film that accomplishes its purpose of educating the audience and reconsidering its perception of life in the countries that do not have much attention from the international political arena. The powerful message of the film allows it to omit certain details, as the audience is still left with a shocking realization of the crises taking place across the world. This movie should be seen by anyone who considers themselves to be a conscious part of the global community.