| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A- |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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A Must-See!!
by Michael M (movies profile)
Jul 3, 2006
12
of
13 people found this review helpful
"Hotel Rwanda" is easily the most moving film I've seen in quite awhile. Don Cheadle is absolutely stunning as Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a four-star Rwandan hotel who risked his life to try and protect over a thousand refugees from murderous gangs of Interhamwe when most everyone else--including the UN--couldn't care less.
"Hotel Rwanda" has been criticized for focusing so much on the story of Rusesabagina and the refugees he saved, rather than the genocide as a whole--which is the most absurd criticism I've ever heard. Did "Schindler's List" address the entire holocaust as a whole, or a slice of it from the perspective of Oskar Schindler? Yet the filmmakers of "Hotel Rwanda" succeed not only in telling Rusesabagina's heroic story, but also in driving home the apathy of the rest of the world to these tragedies.
This is simultaneously a story of human barbarism and human courage. A very well-made, well-acted film. I can't recommend it enough. After watching this, I was reminded of a line from an old 80s sci-fi film called "Starman", in which an alien says this regarding what he finds most beautiful about the human race: "You are at your very best when things are worst." Of course it can cut the other way too, but Rusesabagina's story is as much a testament to redemption and courage as it is to tragedy.
By the way, the song that plays at the closing credits--Wyclef Jean's "Million Voices", is definitely worth a listen. |
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