Hotel Rwanda

We watched Hotel Rwanda today - an excellent film. It depicts the story of one man (a Rwandan Hutu who's done pretty well for himself) at the outbreak of the genocidal attacks in Rwanda in 1994. As the country falls into disarray, this man - a hotel manager - shows incredible bravery and decency by housing hundreds of refugees (from both sides of the conflict).

Ethnic conflict has always been an appalling part of human history. That fact is underscored in this film dealing with the Tutsi/Hutu conflict. I doubt that most people could tell the difference between a Tutsi and a Hutu. It was mentioned in the film that the differences were defined by the Belgians based simply on the width of the nose. In reality there really is no distinction between Tutsi and Hutu [more].

The other question that stuck out in my mind was this: What in hell do we have United Nations peacekeeping forces for? The UN was unable - or worst yet, unwilling - to do anything to prevent the murders of a million people. When things got hot in Rwanda, the UN pulled its peacekeepers out. And the rest of the world stayed out of it.

Hotel Rwanda is a film brilliantly acted and directed. I've noticed Don Cheadle in other films lately, and this certainly is a stunning performance (I believe he was nominated best actor if I recall correctly). The violence, always in the background, was never over the top nor gratuitous. This is not a film about violence, but of fear and hope. I give it my highest recommendation.