Hotel Rwanda

The brilliant performance by Don Cheadle, who by the way had a very-well deserved Oscar nomination, strongly contrasts with the director's lack of enthusiasm for the material and his inability to create sufficient feedback, thus also failing to provide the strong and emotionally rich experience that one would need. The austere formal aspect is not a problem and allows the rawness and authenticity of the setting to stand out, with the greatest emphasis not being so much on the action scenes, but rather on the dialogues. However, I was unpleasantly surprised by the fact that the film emotionally affected me significantly only in two scenes. The absence of a big screen, and consequently the lack of sound effects, may have played a part, both the whole project seems too cold to me. So cold that I consider the average rating to be sufficient in this case. (11/06/2005)

A film from the same family as Joffé’s The Killing Fields. Tense, emotional, direct and at the same time not extortive in any way, and a drama with excellent drastic proprieties. We find the same elements on the motif level - for example, we observe the first contact with the real brutality of the genocide in the Tutsi population through the mediating area of the television screen. The feeling of ubiquitous brutality and hopelessness is only intensified by the limited space of the hotel and the occasional predatory intrusions of the surrounding horrors into it. Terry George gives his film rhythm via an alternation of silent conversational positions and incredibly tense sequences that are full of despair and existential worries abraded to the bone. The central character of Don Cheadle, who goes through development from a worried manager whose job is everything to him, to a man who will do anything to maintain his existence and that of his loved ones, is secondary, but it is a significant civilizing element of the wracking passages of one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. Through its passivity, the Western world feels no less hyenic and awkward than in Joffé’s twenty-year-old film. History repeats terrible circles. (10/03/2007)

At the beginning, it beautifully shows the absurdities that can lead to an uprising in a country. The rest of the film then presents what such absurdity can cause. This is almost unbelievable and makes your stomach turn. It's a wonder Paul and his family managed to survive. It really does seem like a miracle. But the madness of people, that's what makes the biggest impression. (04/07/2017)

A disgrace to the rich Western world and a demonstration of the inefficiency of UNPROFOR troops, materialized on the screen, and after a long time finally a film that is "about something". A raw, terrorizing atmosphere, a superb Don Cheadle and overall a film that can bring the more sensitive to tears. At the end, the filmmakers play too much on emotions, but in films of this type it is forgiven. PS: I'm slowly becoming allergic to French politics. Their active trade relations with Saddam's Iraq, or their supply of arms to the genocidal Rwandan Hutus (see the clearly audible idea from the film), say a lot. (06/15/2005)

“I think if people see this footage they'll say, "Oh my God that's horrible!" ...and then go on eating their dinners. That’s right, I couldn’t put it better than in this quote from the movie. An outstanding picture which, despite the topic, leaves no lasting impression. Which is surprising at the very least. (04/21/2022)