It’s not often a film like Hotel Rwanda comes along. Thinking back to the last time I felt this way watching a film, I remember films like Osama and Schindler’s List. Now, to that elite list, add Hotel Rwanda.
Whilst there was a UN peace-keeping force in place, they weren’t allowed to fire their weapons, unless fired upon. Powerless to stop what is occurring around them, and in serious danger themselves, the Western governments withdraw them from Rwanda, thus ensuring the war will accelerate unabated. It seems this is the main point Terry George wanted to make – that we in the West, so comfortable and affluent in our own lives, must take responsibility for abandoning these people to such a fate.
And make it he does. With several differing techniques, he shows us our culpability – radio broadcasts of Clinton’s White House officials debating the definition of ‘genocide’, but refusing to recognise its occurrence; the cynical cameraman who tells Paul that we in the West will see this footage and go on eating our dinners. The most powerful scene brought me to tears, making me feel my own guilt, but also feeling the horror these people were faced with for the first time – like many in 1994, I was busy with other things, and barely noticed while all this occurred. These stories were a sidenote in my evening news, that I forgot as soon as the next ad break. When it occurs, the evacuation of Westerners from the Hotel Mille Collines, leaving anyone with the wrong passport behind to suffer at the hands of their own countrymen, is at once horrific and moving. It is the most personally affecting piece of cinema I have seen in years.
Don Cheadle is a revelation as Paul Rusesabagina. He has always been an adequate supporting actor, but who knew he could pull off such a lead role? Well, he is stunning, carrying this film on his shoulders. Without Paul being so well played, this film would have fallen flat, and yet, because of Cheadle, it soars.
This is an exceptional film, but isn’t for someone looking for a fun evening with friends. That being said, it is so important, I believe it to be compulsory viewing.