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Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), a Hutu, is the manager of Des Mille Collines a 4 star hotel in
the film Hotel Rwanda. He's married to Tatiana (Sphie Okonedo), a Tutsi and they have three children. Hutus and Tutsi are traditional enemies in Rwanda their
hatred for each other made even more intense by their Belgian colonizers' Divide and Rule Policy. Presently, the Hutus are in power avidly exterminating Tutsis as
cockroaches. Paul's apolitical and practical but he's got style and knows how to cater to the whims and caprices of powerful people on all sides of the political
spectrum. For as long as he and his family are not in trouble, he's indifferent to the carnage and atrocities going on around him. But then, his neighbors, then his
friends and finally his relatives are being rounded up, arrested, beaten and murdered. Paul gathers his courage and makes available his hotel as a sanctuary and an oasis of
peace and hope to thousands of refugees. This is his story and it is true.
Hotel Rwanda is a multi-awarded film having already garnered five major international awards and still counting! Without using special high-tech effects or action-filled sequences, the movie is deeply moving because the focus is on Paul and Sophie's struggle. Don Cheadle's performance is magnificent and stunning. Sophie Okonedo adds depth and humanity for greater empathy. The script is well-written and the film brilliantly directed by Terry George. The audience's social conscience is effectively pricked by the powerful and artistic presentation of this infamous era in Africa's history. This is a must see movie.
In 1994, one million people were brutally murdered in a span of three months mostly from the Tutsi
tribe by the ruling Hutu. America and the Western nations were diverted by troubles in Sarajevo and the Balkan Peninsula. Rwanda was an insignificant, destitute
African country; and so, one of the worst atrocities in history was allowed to go unnoticed. Thanks to Paul, thousands of refugees were given shelter and sanctuary in
his hotel and soon his desperate and persistent efforts prodded the United Nations and the World Press to take notice. This proved once again that even only one man could
make a difference. In the midst of one of the darkest chapters of man's history, Paul's story is a testimony to hope, courage and nobility, as well as the capability
of an ordinary man to become heroic when demanded by the situation. The transformation of Paul from a self-centered sycophant to a courageous, altruistic and
self-sacrificing man is an inspiration and a joy to behold. This could also serve as a wake-up call for the United Nations and all nations for that matter to be more
vigilant in making and keeping peace anywhere and everywhere in the world.
(Date Reviewed: 23 June 2005)
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