Hotel Rwanda English Movie
Hotel Rwanda is the true story of Paul Rusesabagina who opened the doors of Milles Collines hotel, (where he worked as the Manager), to the people of the Tutsi tribe escaping from the clutches of the Hutu tribe. Set in Rwanda and based on the genocide of 1994, where a million Tutsis were massacred by the Hutus, Hotel Rwanda is a poignant tale of one man's endeavour to protect the most vulnerable tribe during that period.
When the film opens, Paul and his wife Tatiana watch their neighbour being beaten and taken away by the police. Tatiana entreats her husband to use his contacts to help the neighbour, but Paul tells her, "We do not know why he is being taken away. Besides I prefer using my contacts when I need them most for my family." Incidentally Paul is a Hutu while his wife belongs to the Tutsi tribe.Following a coup, the President of Rwanda is killed and the Hutus are on a blood thirsty rampage for the lives of Tutsis.
Milles Collines, a posh Belgian owned hotel caters to the Europeans but now becomes a haven for the Tutsis including Paul's family and friends.The UN peacekeeping force posted here is called back and on a rainy day,the Tutsi refugees watch the Europeans leave.An air of despondency hangs over Milles Collines, yet Paul is able to motivate his staff back to work. And he talks to the Tutsi refugees to call up their contacts for support."The outside world must be shamed into action," he urges.From a small bunch of Tutsi relatives and friends, Paul finds himself taking in more people as orphans are brought in, by the members of the International Red Cross Society. The number swells when missionaries bring in more people.And Tatiana is concerned about her brother,his wife and their two daughters who have not made their way into the hotel.Completely at the mercy of the militia,Paul uses his shrewdness and bribes them to trade favours for the one thousand plus refugees under his custody. Significantly featuring through out the film, is the radio station of the Hutu government spewing hatred against the Tutsi,inciting violence and bloodshed. The radio becomes a catalyst for the genocide.Soon stocks run out in the hotel and Paul drives out at night with a staff member to collect supplies from the Hutu militia. On their way back in the darkness,they are forced to stop their vehicle as obstacles on the road make driving difficult.To their shock, they find massacred bodies of Tutsi people lying on the road. Children,women and the old lay in large numbers,a brutal testimony of the genocide.
A disturbed Paul returns to the hotel and as always makes an effort to remain calm.The scene that follows in the hotel while Paul struggles to tie his neck-tie,striving very hard to push back the horrifying picture of the dead on the road is remarkable.Ultimately unable to hold himself he breaks down in the privacy of his room.Commendable is Don Cheadle's acting as Paul and he brings to the fore the character of this Good Samaritan.
As the film progresses, you not only get an insight into the shame of one of the greatest genocide of history, but an inside view of a brave man's ability to triumph in the face of terror most bizarre.Many characters linger in the mind long after, especially Colonel Oliver, the head of the U.N. peace-keeping force. As a compassionate but impotent U.N. peacekeeper, he points out just how little Paul and his people mean to the rest of the world. "You're not even a nigger," he tells him, "You're an African."
Sophie Okonedo as Paul's wife is remarkable and so is Joaquin Phoenix as the photographer, who captures the footage of the atrocities. "If people see this they'll say 'Oh, my God. That's horrible,'" he explains to Paul, "Then they go on eating their dinners.A riveting political thriller yet inspiring with romantic moments shared between Paul and his wife lending a soft touch to an otherwise gruesome story.
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