Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Director:

Terry George

Writers (WGA):

Keir Pearson (written by) &
Terry George (written by)

Release Date:

4 February 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

A true story of a man who fought impossible odds to save everyone he could and created a place where hope survived.

Plot:

The true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

Plot Keywords:

Red Cross | Radio | Poverty | Bazooka | Ethnic Slur

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

Xolani Mali	...	Policeman
Don Cheadle	...	Paul Rusesabagina
Desmond Dube	...	Dube
Hakeem Kae-Kazim	...	George Rutaganda
Tony Kgoroge	...	Gregoire
Rosie Motene	...	Receptionist
Neil McCarthy	...	Jean Jacques
Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole	...	Head Chef (as Kid Sithole)
Nick Nolte	...	Colonel Oliver
Fana Mokoena	...	General Bizimungu
Jeremiah Ndlovu	...	Old Guard
Sophie Okonedo	...	Tatiana Rusesabagina
Lebo Mashile	...	Odette
Antonio David Lyons	...	Thomas Mirama
Leleti Khumalo	...	Fedens

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK | USA | Italy | South Africa

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Argentina:13 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Hungary:14 | Indonesia:Dewasa | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) (certificate #41018) | USA:R (original rating) | New Zealand:M | Philippines:R-13

Filming Locations:

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Nick Nolte's character (Col. Oliver) is modeled in part on Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commanding officer of the UN Peacekeeping mission in that country who attempted to interfere with the Rwandan Genocide despite his superiors' indifference to the atrocity. Dallaire was also the subject of Sundance audience award documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire (2004), and witnessed such horrible acts in Rwanda that he later suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite these facts, this is the only fictional character (name and facts) depicted in the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The shoulder rank insignia of the Canadian Army Colonel in charge of the UN contingent is incorrect: The rank badge should include the word "CANADA" at the outside edge of the epaulet. He is also shown wearing shoulder board insignia which is more typical of a naval officer instead of a senior officer in the Canadian Army. He should have shoulder-mark insignia that slips over the shoulder straps.

Quotes:

[first lines]
George Rutaganda: [voiceover] When people ask me, good listeners, why do I hate all the Tutsi, I say, "Read our history." The Tutsi were collaborators for the Belgian colonists, they stole our Hutu land, they whipped us. Now they have come back, these Tutsi rebels. They are cockroaches...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Umqombothi

A fantastic and powerful film

I was fortunate to see this film at the Toronto Film Festival. I had heard nothing about this film before I read up on it in the Fest guide and originally was going to see something else. But, the subway happened to shut down and I was not going to be able to see the film I originally intended. So, I decided to give this a try.

And I am so very glad I did.

This film is by far the best drama I have seen all year, and indeed was the best film of the 11 I saw at the festival. It is gripping, heart-wrenching, and opens your eyes to so many things. Don Cheadle -- who I am a long time admirer of his work -- is phenomenal in the lead role, and I hope that he is nominated for Best Actor this year, because he certainly deserves it.

I am recommending this film to everybody I know and I hope that it gets a wide distribution because it certainly is a film that needs to be seen. While comparisons can be made to Schindler's List, I think that this film goes further to show that events like the Holocaust can happen any time -- even now -- so long as people look away, just as the UN did in Rwanda. It certainly makes one think about how easy it is for us to forget our history and allow it to be repeated, because (as one character says) we will watch it on TV, say that it is terrible, and go right on eating our dinner. 10/10