War Film

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

I have seen many, many war movies in the past, and without a doubt Hotel Rwanda is the most unique and poignant with emotion.  My entire viewing history with this genre has been filled with dying soldiers, strategized attacks, and caucasian conflicts.  In all honesty, I expected to feel disconnected from the suffering of a culture so different from my own, but I could not have been more wrong.  Hotel Rwanda has unparalleled acting.  The emotions displayed by the actors were so pure and so real that they easily permeated the audience, and I personally shed a few tears at some of the impossible choices the characters had to make.  The possibilities and the consequences were so heavy it was as if losing a loved one was tangible at any moment.  More than many other films, Hotel Rwanda captures the true uncertainty of war and especially the despondent confusion of how it all started.  Despite this war film being about a very under-discussed tragedy and from a very unfamiliar perspective, it succeeded in every way to educate me and to convince me.  A grave mistake happened in history here, and there was no better way to show that than exploring the intimate journey of many families’ survival.  Watching Paul Rusesabagina have to balance the lives of his family and over 800 other families and orphans is nothing like watching soldiers on the battlefield; it is engaging, personal, heart-wrenching, and it gives the audience so much room to empathize and understand his choices.  When realizing this was a true story, it becomes even more moving especially when considering the horrific imagery that had been presented.  The Rwandan Genocide used to be only a name of an event to me, but now I understand.  This is a must-watch for any individuals who don’t feel strongly about this, who don’t recognize it like they would the Holocaust.

10/10