hotel rwanda [A+]

moviemcpeake snippet: Hotel Rwanda is the film of the year. Heart-felt, courageous, gut-wrenching, and overwhelming. “In 1994, some of the worst atrocities in history took place in Rwanda—yet the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, almost one million people were brutally murdered during the Tutsi struggle with the Hutu militia. In the face of these unspeakable actions, Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) summoned extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees by granting them shelter in the four-star hotel he managed in Kigali. Based on a true story.” Plot Outline by Landmark Theaters.

Although Cheadle gave an Oscar worthy performance, the acting was second to the real life events that have been captured by Terry George (Director/co-writer). Filmed on location, George truly captures the courage, fear, and atrocities the citizens of Rwanda experienced. Words can not describe the emotions I felt watching the events unfold and how the western world ignored the cries of help, leaving a million people dead months later.

This genocide was based solely on human differences. Like other genocides, a minority group of people had been singled out, in this case due to lighter skin color and narrower noses. Sounds familiar, huh? The Jewish community singled out by their religion and physical appearance, the black community singled out because of skin color, the list goes on in history of people in masses or individuals being murdered because of a difference. A difference, which can cause a wide spread of ignorance. This continues to spread from citizen to citizen from fear. In the United States alone, we fear third world countries, we fear the man on the bus because he is black, we fear the Muslim woman wearing her head-scarf, we fear the red states, we fear the blue states, we fear our neighbor because she wants to marry her partner, we fear the kids who shave their heads and wear dark make-up, we fear…we fear. This fear eventually turns to hatred. This hatred manifests through propaganda and various leaders. Instead of trying to understand and welcoming these differences we want to remove it, cleanse it, destroy it, change it. As history teaches us, you cannot cleanse and rid difference. Groups singled out, keep fighting to survive, keep fighting to teach understanding. This film shows the audience how a group of humans relying on each other prevailed. We should lend our hand to a fallen brother, not just our brother of faith or our brother of color, but to all brothers. We should embrace our differences and form a stronger country that builds from understanding and acceptance; we should reach out to the world and understand that democracy is yet another difference and not a requirement. We as humans have such little time on Earth. Our roles as human beings are not to destroy one another but to take the time to understand one another.

I encourage everyone to see this film. To watch a group of people being destroyed because of differences. To watch and see that they are like every one else; they have families, they love, they laugh, they cry. We all have families, we all love, laugh, cry, and dream. Inside our dreams is where we are different. Nobody should ever have to experience what the citizens of Rwanda went through in 1994 but everybody should have to learn from it. This film is an experience. An experience of emotions and lessons of the human spirit. Please go and see it.

Additional Information: Director/co-writer Terry George on the heroic efforts of Paul Rusesabagina