In 1994, an unbelievable horror took place in Rwanda as the Hutu extremists started murdering the minority Tutsis who had been given power when the Belgian colonists left. While the rest of the world paid little attention, a manager from one of the upscale hotels used his influence to help the local Tutsis, including his own family and turned the hotel into a refugee camp that saved about 1200 lives. When all was said and done, roughly 1 million people were murdered.
This is a great movie. I relate it to Schindler's List by saying that it was fascinating to watch, but very disturbing at the same time. I watched this movie with the knowledge that it was based on true events, but knowing that the reality must have been much worse since this movie was rated PG-13. As horrific as it was, the courage and selflessness of the hotel manager who opened his hotel to Tutsi refugees was amazing. This was truly a man who put his life on the line to help others and was a nice antithesis from the unspeakable violence that was happening in the streets. There are great bonus features on the DVD that have interviews with the people who survived the real tragedy, including the hotel manager. This is the type of movie that makes you think about everything we take for granted.
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte
I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.
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