I love stories of courage and survival, and I realize again that sometimes, it takes just one person to make a huge difference. This is the theme of Hotel Rwanda. Based on the life of Paul Rusesabagini, this film takes you to the 90s when Rwanda found itself in the midst of internal conflict. On the brink of civil war, a group of people in Rwanda manage to survive, thanks to the courage and intelligence of one hotel manager.
Paul is a dedicated manager at a well-known 4-star hotel, the Mille Collines that houses several foreigners and diplomats. Despite the growing animosity between the Hutus and the Tutsis, it doesn’t affect life in the hotel. The hotel serves its best scotch, and focuses on keeping its customers comfortable. And the face representing this well-to-do hotel is Paul Rusesabagini.
Trouble begins when the Hutus take over, deciding to kill all the Tutsis. Paul as a Hutu is safe, but he is married to Tatiana, a Tutsi and this puts his family at risk. When the attacks begin, Paul bribes Hutu soldiers, and escapes to the hotel with his family and some friends. They move in for safety, as the hotel also houses members of the UN.
Soon, a lot Tutsi refugees find their way into the hotel, which is their only route to safety. With the Hutus carrying on with a murdering spree outside, the UN and Red Cross smuggle in more and more people into the crowding hotel. Paul however isn’t terribly apprehensive about the situation. He is in charge, and he decides to hold on till the world intervenes to restore peace. He has seen the footage shot by a journalist, and is sure that when the world sees the strewn bodies, they will send security forces immediately. But as is common, the world expresses sympathy, but does nothing. Nothing happens, and the crowd in the hotel continues waiting.
Then one day, the security forces arrive. What was expected to be a huge, life-altering moment, proves to be a rude shock. The forces arrive to evacuate all foreigners from Rwanda. In buses every foreigner is taken out to safety; journalists, tourists, missionaries, nuns, red cross and UN officials.
As always, Paul takes charge then. He asks people to come forward and call their contacts abroad. Even if they were all going to be killed, they had to let the world know about the situation before they died. This trick worked, as a lot of people soon got entry into other countries. Paul was in this list, but he decides to let his traumatized family go alone. Responsible for the thousand odd people in his hotel, he finds it difficult to abandon them. But even this plan doesn’t work, as the Hutus are determined not to let anyone go.
The struggles get bigger and bigger, with people living off the water in the pool, and managing on leftover rations in the hotel. Some survive, some don’t. But they live together, huddled up in the hotel, even managing to have fun at times. The children dance and play, and the parents have small get togethers. The hotel becomes a little community, and Paul keeps this community alive by bribing officials for safety, and using his intelligence to get army help. Finally, his perseverance pays off, and they are able to leave.
What is amazing about this real life political thriller, is that ONE man helped so many people survive the blood bath of 1994. The story is inspirational.
This film reminds you of the Nazi period when the Nazi’s squashed the jews with their tyranny. No different, the Hutus in Rwanda attempted to wipe out an entire generation of Tutsis.
Don Cheadle plays the soft-spoken, charming, intelligent Paul Rusesabagini, and he is simply perfect for the part. The director Terry George has also done a good job. Though the film focuses on the humanitarian efforts, we get an insight into the political situation on occasions. We learn that the Belgians are responsible for causing strife, and that the french are providing arms to the Hutu rebels. However, the effect is perhaps minimised by the extra dose of unnecessarily sentimental scenes. If not for these scenes, the film would have been more effective.
You will love it, if you liked Schindler’s List.