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Director Terry George brings the horrific story about the Rwandan massacre to life on the big screen. The story is told through the eyes of one special man, Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), a savvy, clever and cunning manager of a swank, four-star Belgian hotel in the capital, Kigali. When the massacres began, Paul (a Hutu) shelters more than 1200 people in the hotel and saved them from the wrath of the bloodthirsty killers. The message rang loud and clear when Paul asks the U.S. reporter (Joaquin Phoenix) how the world powers could not intervene after seeing scenes of Tutsi men, women and children being hacked to death with machetes by Hutu militia. Democratic Leaders could have easily stopped this from happening but didn't care enough to do so since there was no interest in doing so. After all, poor countries have little clout. Clinton finally apologized to Rwandans for not intervening during the 100-day massacre that saw over a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus slaughtered in a barbaric way. Apologies don't go along way with the families of those that were slaughtered. The Rwandan genocide is a black mark on western nations, which simply got their citizens out of Rwanda and then remained indifferent to the senseless killings. Working from a smart script by Keir Pearson and George, "Hotel Rwanda" contains gut-wrenching and emotionally trying moments not seen on the big screen since Schindler's List (1993). Although Steven Spielberg spent more time working on cinematography and artistic angles, George seems to capture the urgency and tenseness of the situation. Maybe it's because we now see a similar slaughter of poor, downtrodden people in the Darfur region of Sudan. Again, western nations aren't doing much other than threatening to rap the knuckles of the bad guys like angry teachers. We briefly see the horror firsthand with tidbits of footage taped by the reporter of people being killed and again in one particularly searing scene when Paul and his bellhop Gregoire (Tony Kgoroge) find themselves on a bumpy road littered with bodies, but not much of on-screen killing. The moment's were made more horrifying because George unveils it in a quite eerie manner. Making a PG-13 film about genocide requires numerous compromises. Putting most, if not all, of the violence off-camera is one such bargain George made. Truth is a closer look at the massacre would have rightly tortured us. The film, nevertheless, works without gruesome moments. Pearson and George were completely successful in capturing this true story of heroism, survival, love and compassion amid the madness. Cheadle's coolness and savvy carries the entire film throughout. There isn't a single slip in his performance. He always seems to turn in one superb performance after another. Here, he's in equal measure the smooth manager, man with a conscience, and frightened husband and father. You can sense Paul's frustration, though Cheadle rarely displays any vulnerability. He gets great support from Sophie Okonedo as Paul's Tutsi wife, Tatiana. Nick Nolte does a fantastic job as a hard nosed U.N. a Canadian United Nations officer, Colonel Oliver, although this character seems to be quite blunt and prejudiced at times. Perhaps George wished to drive home a point that some people really have humanity issues. I'm going to give this film 5/5 for its important message it strive to drive home. IF YOU LIKE MY REVIEW, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW BY VOTING. THANKS!Read full review
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