The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

"Ahead of their arrival, Dallaire says he got a phone call. A U.S. officer was wondering precisely how many Rwandans had died. Dallier was puzzled and asked why he wanted to know. 'We are doing our calculations back here,' the U.S. Officer said, 'and one American casualty is worth about 85,000 Rwandan dead."

Samantha Power, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide


I've wanted to see Hotel Rwanda since its release in 2004, but until last weekend haven't managed to achieve this goal. I was not disappointed in this film and I feel fortunate that it's been a long time since I've written a negative review of a movie. Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, a man who helped saved the lives of more than 1200 people during the Rwandan Genocide. Cheadle, as always, is impeccable. Seriously, I can't think of a more refined, precise actor than Don Cheadle. He is the Ferrari of Hollywood filmmaking. Nick Nolte, who plays Colonel Oliver (based on Roméo Dallaire), continues his streak of "Most Annoying Actor to Watch Act". I think Nolte is a pretty decent actor, but I just can't understand him when he speaks. It's like he took the same drugs as Al Pacino, but only a lot more of them and now he can only communicate in Grizzly, which is bad since the rest of Hotel Rwanda is shot in ENGLISH! Even at that, Hotel Rwanda is an engaging film that will be useful in teaching future generations about what happened to that country in 1994.

The filmmakers certainly took an interesting approach to the film as we never see anyone hacked to death by machetes. This is interesting because most filmmakers wouldn't pass up an opportunity to depict such brutal horror on the silver screen. That type of restraint is rare, in my observation. I'm not sure how this impacts the movie-watching experience though. In a way, it makes the genocide seem distant from the events within the hotel. And, it was difficult to ascertain the danger of the situation and whether or not the hotel refugees were really subject to it. Of course, if you know the historical situation, then you know they were most certainly in danger, but in the film this is not always obvious. I don't really know if this is a complaint because I am definitely weary from seeing onscreen death--just an observation.

The one thing I wish that Hotel Rwanda would have addressed more directly is the "West's" adamant refusal to intervene in the situation. All things being equal, I'm a pacifist. But, I do think there are reasons to have a military and reasons to use it. Iraq invasion: not a good reason. Spanish-American War: not a good reason. Rwandan Genocide: (Would have been a) good use of military. In the film, though, we rarely move from the perspective of the Rwandans trapped in the hotel. We know that the UN and the US are discussing the genocide because we see Rwandans listening intently to the radio, hoping for intervention, but this issue is largely avoided. And, perhaps it is outside the scope of Hotel Rwanda, but it is an important part of the history of the Rwandan Genocide that should not be overlooked so easily in future films.

I'd give Hotel Rwanda a 7 out of 10. Definitely worth seeing.