Hotel Rwanda

So due to the busy holiday season (combined with an insanely busy week at work right after the holidays), I’ve gotten a bit behind on my movie reviews. So consequently I’ve got 4 new movies that I need to get reviewed (and will try to get to soon). Before I do that, however, I just watched a movie on The Movie Channel that I’ve been wanting to see for awhile now, that I was so impressed with I wanted to do a review of it first. The movie in question is the Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda. This is a movie I’ve wanted to see since it first came out, primarily because I actually followed the events of the Rwanda genocide as they happened while I was working with military intelligence in the Army. And so I knew full how just how horrific the events detailed in the movie were (even more so than what was actually shown in the movie, as frightening as that thought is).

This movie is in a word, brilliant. I was completely blown away. The performances were riveting, the story was compelling, the dramatic tension maintained throughout the movie. The film is also incredibly tragic as it details the atrocities that were committed, and you can't help but be moved by what happens in the film. While not a cheery movie by any means, it is a powerful and moving film. It's not necessarily a movie you would want to watch more than once, but this is absolutely a must-see film. This is one of those powerful stories that needs to be told so that history doesn’t forget what happened. I would say this is especially important for the Western world, as Europe and America stood back and simply let the genocide occur, making no efforts to stop it (I guess a country has to have oil reserves before the U.S. will take an interest in their internal affairs – but I’ll keep my political views to myself. This is a movie blog, after all).

Don Cheadle’s performance is outstanding, easily deserving of his Oscar nomination. Of course, I’ve liked Don Cheadle since his days in the TV show Picket Fences back in the early 90s. Probably my favorite performance of his would be in Volcano (where he pretty much stole every scene he was in). He was also great in such movies as Devil in a Blue Dress, Ocean’s Eleven (with his goofy attempt at a British accent), Mission to Mars, and After the Sunset. I’ve always thought of him as an actor to keep an eye out for, and have enjoyed every performance I’ve seen him give. In Hotel Rwanda he gives probably his most powerful performance to date, showing just how talented an actor he truly is.

In conclusion, I easily give Hotel Rwanda a solid 5 stars. If you haven’t seen this movie, I absolutely recommend checking it out.