Hotel Rwanda (2004)
I sat down to watch "Hotel Rwanda"
and immediately wondered before the movie started
if I really wanted to be there. Anyone who has been
paying attention to the media hype surrounding the
Oscar contending movie, which has been nominated for
and won several other awards, knows its subject matter:
Genocide. This isn't going to be an easy movie to
watch, I told myself. This isn't going to be a pleasant
experience. Why am I here?
But like all good movies about tragedy
and despair, "Hotel Rwanda" has at its heart a more
powerful message about hope and the unbelievable compassion
and humanity of man. This is a beautiful and moving
film, one that has a poignant and important message
and one that makes us think deeply about who we are
as people and what we must aspire to be.
There is no doubt that Don Cheadle
is an amazing thespian. In film after film (with the
possible exception of "Ocean's Eleven"), he has proved
just what an important and effective actor he can
be. His work here is nothing short of perfection.
He is so good that we often forget it is Cheadle we
are watching and simply become engrossed in the story
at hand, a sure sign of a winning performance.
Cheadle is supported by some of
the finest actors in a film this year. Sophie Okonedo
has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best
Supporting Actress category and she is utterly deserving
of the nod. Nick Nolte performs admirably in a role
that fits him perfectly and allows him to remind us
of just how good he can be given the right material.
But the truly phenomenal supporting moments in the
film come from Jaoquin Phoenix who, with nary five
minutes of screen time, gives a base to the film that
underlines everything important here; while at the
same time, he seasons the piece with an overwhelming
sorrow (perhaps because his position emulates the
typical compassionate American perspective). His work
here is as amazing as the leads.
Yes, there are a few problems with
the film. An early scene in a car has some obvious
blue screen moments. It's sad to see such an obvious
special effect here when the latter effects, some
of the images so horrific that we simply must look
away, are so well done. Although the film is not graphic
or gratuitous in its violence, even though it is not
maudlin nor overbearing in its depiction of what is
going on here, a few of the images in the film are
so disturbing that one cannot bare to look at the
screen. And this with the violence downplayed so that
the film could receive a PG-13 rating and reach a
wider audience. Young filmmakers take note: You don't
have to use a lot of blood and gore to horrify your
audience. Some of the most disturbing images here
are viewed from a distance, with nary a drop of blood
in sight. It is the thought of the violence taking
place that jars us, not blood and gore.
When I watched the horrors unfolding
in "Hotel Rwanda" and witnessed the absurdity of a
United Nations peacekeeping force that refused to
become involved in a genocide of epic proportions
and realized the absence of any national government
willing to come to the aid of the citizens who were
being slaughtered, one question echoed in my mind:
Where were we? Where were the Americans? It was the
question that plagued my thoughts over ten years ago
when I witnessed the video footage of the lone protestor
standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square. Where
was my country? Why did we not get involved?
In this time of global warfare and
American's involvement in the Middle East, it is a
question that resonates even more loudly. "Hotel Rwanda"
is much more than a film about a single incident.
It is a passion cry, a tear of frustration, and a
epic poem about sorrow and loss, hope and compassion
and, most importantly, the need to open our eyes and
become involved.
Notes:
Also with Jean Reno in an uncredited
role.
Co-written, co-produce and directed
by Terry George. George wanted Cheadle for the film
from the very beginning even though potential investors
were more fond of Denzel and Wesley Snipes for the
role.
Filmed in South Africa.
The film and its stars and makers
have been nominated for and won several awards.
Viewed at the Arbor in Austin in
January, 2005. The first movie I watched in a theater
in this new year. I went over 25 days without seeing
a movie at a theater in the beginning of 2005.
