Hotel Rwanda and the Rwandan genocide

Hotel Rwanda: The Heartbreaking Story Of Rwandan Genocide

Emotions soar in Terry George's Hotel Rwanda (2004), as the film intensely portrays the gruesome effect of the Rwandan Genocide. Named aptly as the "African Schindler's List" (Burr), the film looked to elicit a plethora of emotions that can only be done through a story loosely based on Paul Rusesabagina's memoirs over his time as manager of the Sabena Hotel des Mille Collines. Regardless of inaccuracy, the story and the acting does the film itself major justice, and the desired effect could only be positive.

Don Cheadle plays Rusesabagina, a Hutu who is married to a Tutsi (Sophie Okonedo). This communal bond sparks much controversy in Rwanda, a country that is torn between the Hutu and Tutsi extremist factions. Through the use of propaganda -- wherein radio personality George Rutaganda (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) calls the Tutsi "cockroaches" -- the Hutu incite their people into rebellion, to a point where the nation becomes enslaved in a civil war. The violence in the film heightens to a climactic high after the announcement of President Juvenal Habyarimana's assassination. In the film, Rusesabagina is seen passing a long road littered with bodies of Rwandans -- mostly remnants of what the angry Hutu have done with the Tutsi.

The film's portrayal of the peoples of Rwanda and of the lack of military support from foreign nations enables the audience to feel a range of emotions in the film. The graphic depiction of refugees and victims of the genocide allowed the audience to view the gory and violent results of war. The riveting dynamics of the actors -- whether they played Tutsi or Hutu or foreign dignitaries -- produced a quality of storytelling that cannot be easily outmatched. By the end of Hotel Rwanda, the audience is captivated with Cheadle's and his family's emotional journey away from the center of the conflicts.

Besides the blatant conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsis, the audience members become aware of the growing need for other countries to intervene within the nation. Just how willing would other nations be when it comes to helping the prevention of a mass genocide? Even help during the Holocaust was far and few -- most of the involvement regarding war against Germany was mostly due to an objection to the spread of a fascist government. Occasionally, the European countries banded together to help hide their nation's Jews, but of the 6 million murdered, the amount of Jews helped pales in comparison to the amount killed.

Likewise, the Rwandan Genocide totaled around 800,000 deaths, within the span of a mere 100 days (BBC News). Yet where were the other nations who could have sent in military to sustain the violence? In one poignant scene, Canadian UN Peacekeeping officer Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte) tries to explain the reason as to why the rest of the world will not come to help the Rwandans: "You're black. You're not even a nigger. You're an African" (Hotel Rwanda). The fate depicted in the film seems to call for the end of apathetic countries, which did not seem to care to help, even when it is clear the Rwandans had become agitated and desperate to escape the death toll. In fact, Rusesabagina states that the best method to incite sympathy outside of the nation, one must "shame [the foreigners] into sending help" (Hotel Rwanda).