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any awkward exposition, we learn about the explosive friction in Rwanda. There are two rival ethnic groups: the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi. A visiting reporter, played by Joaquin Phoenix, remarks that two women in a bar, one Hutu and one Tutsi, “could be sisters.” But just hours later, a single act of violence—the murder of the president of Rwanda, a Hutu—incites panic, chaos, and then a barbaric hunt for any Tutsis. A hissing, hate-mongering radio station urges the Hutu to “kill the cockroaches.”
Rusesabagina, a Hutu, is friends with many Tutsis, and reluctantly he shelters several in the hotel. He wants to help, but he doesn’t want to compromise his own family’s chances for survival. Soon more Tutsis arrive at the hotel, and then still more. Eventually, Rusesabagina struggles to maintain appearances at the hotel, keep his family safe, and make sure that his high-powered connections are still buttered up.
George expertly ratchets up the tension. Violence, which is first only seen at the edges, creeps closer and closer to the hotel’s walls, infusing the film with a real sense of panic. Instead of giving a panoramic view of the genocide—instead of long shots—George keeps the camera squarely on our heroes in the hotel, watching Rusesabagina as he charms, bribes, and out-maneuvers first the Hutu military, then the savage militia, and then the enemies from within.
It’s a refreshing bit of old-fashioned storytelling. There are no gimmicks. No tricks with the camera or warping of the timeline. The movie could have been made in the 40’s. Once the Tutsis are bunkered in the hotel, for ninety minutes, George takes us on a high-stakes roller-coaster that leaves us breathless. And he does this without showing hard violence, nudity, or even language. The threat is implied, never shown, which makes the danger all the more frightening.
Superb acting abounds. Cheadle, of course, is magnificent. Sophie Okonedo, who plays Rusesabagina’s wife, is painfully sympathetic. And in less than ten minutes of screen time, Joaquin Phoenix personifies the embarrassment and shame of America. His journalist watches, open-mouthed, horrified, at the atrocities committed just several hundred yards from the hotel. When he is forced to evacuate, he is deeply ashamed, a sentiment shared by the rest of Western Civilization.
Hotel Rwanda is a political movie for people who don’t like political movies. George makes us care about Rusesabagina, and therefore the Tutsi, and then, surprisingly—cutting through the Houston Rockets, and the daily noise of our lives—he even makes us realize what was really important in 1994.
Movie Grade: A+
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