Hotel Rwanda Essay

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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...

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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…

Sources Used in Documents:

Resources

Burr, Ty. "Hotel Rwanda Movie Review: Cheadle brings quiet power to 'Rwanda'." The Boston Globe. January 7, 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-09.

Hotel Rwanda. Dir. Terry George. Perf. Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte, Jean Reno. United Artists, 2004. DVD.

"Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened." BBC News - Home. 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 02 May 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1288230.stm>.


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