Annie, Jay, Hollis and I went to see Hotel Rwanda on Saturday night...and it was a moving experience. I haven't felt so conflicted by a movie since Black Hawk Down. The kind of feeling where you don't know to be happy, sad, angry or sick at humanity. I highly recommend this movie, but be warned you may be holding your breath through most of it.
So I had a few things I wanted to point out about this...
- I feel bad about saying this was a "great" movie, because the subject matter is actual history...and not some far off "my great grandfather fought in some war eons ago" but recent history...roughly when I was a high school junior. Back then I was much more informed about what was going on in the world and yet I didn't know the genocide of 1 million people happened in Rwanda.
- Don Cheadle is an amazing actor...no longer just a supporting actor..but someone who can lead an entire film. His portrayal of Paul was amazing. You felt compassion and cheered for things to work out for Paul, because Paul was just a regular guy who inadvertantly took on an amazing responsibility. It was very complex too because Don Cheadle portrayed Paul as a conflicted man who's family is the main priority but his devotion to his company and job ended up being a way to save everyone else too...too much going on ther for me to explain...just watch the movie
- Paul saved approximatedly 1200 Rwandans...a small number compared to the 1 million that died. You could say that it wasn't enough, but compared to most people's "fight or flight" mentality....I think it was amazing. He neither fought nor ran....but simply stood his ground, bought time, cashed in all his favors, tried to get everyone else out all the while trying to maintain the 4 star quality of the Hotel Milles Colines. Once again...too much going on there to concisely explain.
- This movie and Don Cheadle were robbed at the Oscars last night...they should have won something. I am biased since I did not see Million Dollar Baby or Ray...but sometimes, people need a forum...and with the wide reach of the Oscars, it would have been a great opportunity to raise awareness and spread some sort of message.
- Even after watching the movie..I am not sure what do do. I am not sure if it's appropriate to get involved in civil disputes as a general rule of thumb(although I know this was genocide). I wonder because it is by the colonization of those areas by strangers (euros) that additional tensions mounted and the natural tribal power structure was put out of wack....then they leave, leaving the country stunted in growth...would a re-insertion of strangers forcing a certain way of life really solve the problem? I don't know.
2 comments:
That last one is a good question, but you have to wonder how the western world can stay out of the conflict when it was a fundamental cause of the problem. Like, it is kind of fishy to get in there and screw everything up and then stand back and say you can't be involved. I think international pressure does a lot, I mean, that was sort of an underlying theme of the movie--if the Europeans didn't care about what was going on at the hotel, the hold out would have been a lot shorter. Europe or America has done a lot to promote stability in areas where they have commercial interests. I think if human rights for other races were important to rich countries, the situations would improve. We don't have to send troops to every conflict, sometimes some economic pressure or clear public condemnation is enough to save people. I've written to Congress to ask that my rep. speak up on Sudan. You can find out more information about human rights world wide at the Human Rights Watch site. www.hrw.org
And you are so right about the Oscars, Don Cheadle was f-ing awesome.
I have to say the scene in the movie where Paul calls the corporate office in Belgium to ask for help was pretty intense. The president of the hotel chain takes his call and tries to help by calling his international government contacts...you can sense the dissapointment and shame when he realizes he can't really help Paul. There were some really touching moments in the dynamics of human relationships in this movie.
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