Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Directed by Terry George

Film Review

Coming a decade after the 1994 genocide which shamed the rest of the world and painfully exposed the inadequacies of the United Nations, Hotel Rwanda follows the example of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List by showing the difference made by one courageous individual when confronted with a humanitarian atrocity of staggering proportions.  The individual in question is Paul Rusesabagina, a humble hotel manager who used his position to save the lives of over 1200 refugees by sheltering them in his Belgian-owned hotel in Kigali.  Since the film was made, its authenticity has been challenged by a small number of genocide survivors, who claim that Rusesabagina acted out of self-interest, criminally exploiting the guests in his hotel he was supposedly harbouring from danger, even betraying some who had placed their trust in him.

Even if the worst allegations against Rusesabagina are borne out, there is little doubt that, through his intervention, many lives were saved and the film's representation of him as a humanitarian hero is surely not without substance.  As in Spielberg's film, it is hard not to be moved and inspired by Hotel Rwanda's portrayal of an ordinary family man who does what he can to save a few fellow beings from an unimaginably brutal death, at no small risk to himself.  Don Cheadle is superb in the lead role - not the classic stoic square-jawed hero, but an unassuming mild everyman impelled by his conscience to take a stand, even if it means putting himself, his family and his colleagues in jeopardy.

Cheadle's compelling and totally believable performance is expertly matched by that of Nick Nolte, who also deserves praise for his down-to-earth portrayal of the film's other good guy, a beleaguered United Nations colonel fighting a losing battle to carry out his duties despite the ferocity of tribal hostility and staggering apathy of his Western paymasters.  It is to the detriment of the film that only Cheadle and Nolte ring consistently true - most of the other characters in the drama come across as disappointingly two-dimensional or bland archetypes.  The worst offender is Paul's increasingly hysterical wife - Sophie Okonedo lacks Cheadle's effortless authenticity and soon becomes grating in a role that deserves a far more subtle and restrained handling.

Terry George's mise-en-scène is also not without some notable shortcomings, although much of this can be excused by the sheer scale of his undertaking (Hotel Rwanda being by far his most ambitious film to date).  The character scenes - particularly those involving Cheadle and Nolte - are extremely well directed, and convey a very real sense of the anxiety, horror, fear and frustration that takes hold of the protagonists as they struggle to stay in control of the situation.  Things sadly take a turn for the worst in the last third of the film, with frequent bursts of forced emotionality coming to the fore as a taut psychological drama gradually sliding towards somewhat overwrought melodrama.

George's direction has its fair moments of brilliance but becomes jarringly uneven towards the end, the more impressive intimate character moments sitting ill alongside some of the more frenetic action sequences which serve more to shock than engage.  In places, the abrupt switching of pace and mood works well to emphasise the utter precariousness of those living through the nightmare of the genocide; elsewhere, it undermines the focus and the spectator's involvement in the drama is reduced substantially.

Imperfect though the film is, Hotel Rwanda still manages to be a thoroughly compelling piece of drama and serves as a worthy historical document - a fitting tribute to the initiative and bravery shown by its central protagonist and others like him when caught up in the most horrific of crises.  It doesn't labour the point, but the film does carry an important moral subtext, an unapologetic condemnation of the West for failing to intervene and diminish the scale of genocide.  Indeed, it is the West's tacit reluctance to do anything that makes Rusesabagina's actions all the more laudable, if not miraculous.  It is always good to be reminded that in the worst situations a few will rise to the occasion and serve humanity as best they can - whatever the cost to themselves.

Film Synopsis

Early in the spring of 1994, the African country Rwanda descends into tribal anarchy as the Hutu controlled government attempts to put down an uprising by Tutsi rebels.  Paul Rusesabagina is the manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in the country's capital city, Kigali.  As a Hutu, he is safe for the moment, but his Tutsi wife Tatiana and their children are not so fortunate and are in danger of being arrested or killed, along with many of their compatriots.  When the country's president is assassinated, Rwanda quickly descends into bloody civil war, with Hutus well placed to carry out a campaign of ethnic cleaning against the Tutsis, regardless of whether they support the rebels.   Mindful of what will happen if he gets on the wrong side of the conflict, Paul stays on good terms with Augustin Bizimungu, a Hutu general with considerable influence.

Paul's only dependable ally is a Canadian officer with the United Nations peacekeeping force, Colonel Oliver.  With the UN unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees into the area, Paul accommodates as many evacuees - Hutu and Tutsi - as he can in his hotel.  Meanwhile his wife is preoccupied with finding her missing brother and his family, hoping that there is still time to get them to safety.  When a disgruntled employee Gregoire turns against him, Paul quickly discovers that he and his family are now in the greatest danger.  Their one hope is to flee with the departing UN convoy, leaving behind many thousands who are unlikely to survive the by now unstoppable nationwide massacre.