Saturday, February 26, 2005
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Cast: Don Cheadle (Paul Rusesabagina)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Hotel Rwanda page.
Wow... This movie struck me to the core. I thought I understood quite a bit about the wars and struggles in Africa, but I definitely had rose-colored glasses on where it was concerned. Hotel Rwanda was so realistic that I often found myself trying to hide from the screen and I cried at many points.
Terry George did an amazing job directing this talented cast. Knowing that many of the actors in the movie lived through this actual experience, it blows me away that they were able to act in Hotel Rwanda after going through such horrible things in real life. I can't imagine living through something like that once, let alone re-creating it. What they did is really impressive. I'm sure they knew that this story had to be told and were willing to put themselves through the horror in order to spread the word. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been.
Hotel Rwanda is definitely the kind of movie you want to see when you are doing something totally fun and uplifting that night (in my case, playing with my fiance's nieces). I would not recommend seeing Hotel Rwanda at night, since leaving the theatre to a dark night might prolong the depression caused by the movie, but it is definitely a movie that needs to be seen to be believed. I'm glad I saw this before the award shows and hope that everyone in the film is rewarded for their amazing performances.
Grade: ALabels: 2004, Don Cheadle, drama, history, movie, thriller, war