Extra Credit Movie Review

Hotel Rwanda: A True Story That Needs To Be Heard 

The movie Hotel Rwanda is not only an extremely powerful film, it is also educational and based on true events. This movie follows the real-life experience of Paul Rusesabagina, hotel manager of Hôtel des Mille Collines, and his family as they live through the civil war between the Hutu and Tutsis. 

The movie starts out as a day in the life of Paul who is running the very successful Hôtel des Mille Collines. Paul lives a simple and comfortable life with his wife and children, and his skill of leadership stands out from the beginning. As the movie progresses, you notice abnormal behavior from the community outside of the hotel such as protests. It is soon learned that tension is rising between the Hutus and Tutsis, and war is on the horizon. 

Violence breaks out and soon the history making genocide of the Tutsis has begun. Paul finds himself hiding Tutsi refugees in his hotel, and all protection is gone as the U.N. has fled. Paul finally finds a way to blackmail a general of the Hutu militia, and they begin their trip to the U.N. convoy. 

This movie raises a question: Can it happen again? We all look at this genocide and other tragic events such as the Holocaust in disbelief. How could we let this happen? I believe this movie sends out an important message. This movie brings awareness to an unspeakable act that we could have prevented. Previous to this movie’s release, many did not realize this genocide was ignored by all countries that could have helped. The movie does a great job at drawing attention to the fact that the U.N. could have put a stop to this, but they backed out as soon as violence started getting out of hand. It was not until the tail end of the genocide that the U.N. came and set up convoys for the Tutsis that could make it there. 

If there is one lesson anyone can learn from watching this movie it is that all human kind deserves to be treated equal. It can be argued that when the U.N. left the Tutsis, it was because they were of color and undeserving of their protection. The Tutsis felt as though the U.N. did not want to put their soldiers’ lives at risk for people of color. 

Hotel Rwanda is an extremely moving movie that is both educational and heart wrenching. It keeps you on your toes while following this unbelievable true story of Paul Rusesabagina. It is important to be aware of this unjust act in history, and to learn from past mistakes.