Hotel Rwanda

I went to see a film at the art house in Edinburgh last night about the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and oh my goodness was it harrowing.

Harrowing and deeply disturbing, but not without hope.

Don Cheadle stars in the true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsis refugees, during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

At one point I thought I was going to have to leave the cinema, since it was so heart wrenching. I think the fact that it was based on a true story deeply effected me; that, along with the fact that these atrocities occurred within my life time, a mere twelve years ago.

What really disturbed me was, that at the point when help was most needed, the "West" pulled out and refused to protect the Tutsis, many of whom were helpless woman and children. I felt sickened as I watched the scene where all foreign, armed forces withdrew from Rwanda, excluding a very small UN peace-keeping unit, which was not even authorised to use guns! Shameful.

During this highly emotive scene, the singing of african children is heard in the background, adding to the already tense atmosphere of sadness and hopelessness. As I listened to the beautiful voices of these children, something of the injustice and brutality of the genocide in Rwanda suddenly hit me. I looked on aghast, as all the foreign troops left the Tutsis to fend for themselves, left them to die.

I know not everyone can tolerate watching violence on screen, however, the portrayal of violence in this film is not gratuitous, rather it is subtle and powerful. Neither is it overly graphic (as it could so easily have been) but it serves to highlight just how awful this civil war between the Hutu and the Tutsis was.

I would highly recommend this film to those of you who are interested in international politics, the struggles of humanity or even just quality films, since I found "Hotel Rwanda" to be a beautifully made, educational master piece.

It certainly opened my eyes anyway and it has had some excellent reviews: