Hotel Rwanda

Generally, I love movies based on historical events. Especially when they're somewhat close to the actual truth. And I like them even better when they're based on real people doing things during historical events. I think it helps to humanize history in a way that textbooks and classes never can. Thinking about my favorites movies, a lot of them are of this sort of genre. Thirteen Days, Apollo 13, All the Presidents Men, Life is Beautiful (okay, this one's stretching it, but at least the Holocaust was real)- they're all based on historical events. So, needless to say, when I heard about Hotel Rwanda, I really wanted to see it. Unfortunately, it stayed at my theater for like a week (why Meet the Fockers got six months I'll never know...), and it was the week I was out of town. So I didn't get to see it in theaters.

Finally it was released on DVD yesterday and I rented it. It was a completely moving and beautiful movie. I didn't know that much about the whole Hutu vs. Tutsi thing beforehand (and, to be honest, I was having trouble keeping them straight for the first half of the movie), which is kind of amazing when I realized that I was six when this happened- it wasn't that long ago.

The story focuses on Paul Rusesbagina (I've probably spelled his name incorrectly), a manager at the Hotel Milles Collines in Kigali, Rwanda. It's a four-star hotel, and filled with diplomats and generals and all sorts of influential people from around the world who Paul is essentially schmoozing so that, if he ever needs to, he'll be able to call in favors to save himself and his family. Paul is a Hutu, but his wife is a Tutsi, which places him in incredible danger. The movie follows him as the massive and violent genocide by the Hutus to the Tutsis begins and the entire country is devestated. You see how he goes from caring for just his immediate family in the beginning of the movie to eventually taking care of anyone who needs it . The arc of humanity is evident in this one man and his family.

The one part that I found really shocking was the fact that the world essentially turned a blind eye. Now, I know that Hollywood tends to exaggerate things and make the U.S. seem worse that it actually is, but I've read several articles where people who were actually involved said that this was pretty close to the truth, and Europe and the West did really pull out, leaving nothing but the U.N. Peacekeepers (who were pretty much ineffective because they couldn't fire their guns...) to protect the Tutsis against the crazy Hutus. The people in the movie were saved only by their ability to impress the gravity of their situation on their connections, and the fact that Paul Rusesbagina kept them safe while they were doing this.

It's a very serious movie, but never cheesily so. Well, except for Nick Notle's speech that practically has "For the Consideration of the Academy" written in subtitles on the bottom of the screen. I'm kind of surprised it got a PG-13 rating, because it was quite violent, and there was some language. I guess it was on appeal from an R. But a beautiful movie. I'd recommend reading something about the genocide first and then watching this movie- it will really make it come alive.