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| [Review] Hotel Rwanda (if u don't watch movies pls skip) |
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| jannah |
| 01/29/05 at 03:01:23 |
| [slm] Ok I didn't want to see this movie cause I read/heard that it was about the Rwandan atrocities that happenned in the early 90s. You might remember a time where on the nighly news they showed masses of bodies floating down rivers when this country had a civil war where two different ethnic groups did their best to completely annihilate each other. So I thought, don't we see enough killing in real life with the war etc.... But then I thought it would be good to get my mind off my own troubles for awhile. So we went to see this film. I can't even think of how to review it. It's almost an independent film genre type of movie, a docu-drama, a Bravo channel-esque type film, where the film ends and everyone in the theater is still sitting there even after the house lights are up. It is disturbing, yet still a great movie with supsense, drama, good acting. You even sit through it thinking this is a great movie. At times, you wonder why does the world let these things go on and then go make great movies about them. Then later on thinking about this movie, you almost wonder if the writer is really sending a message to you, the person in the audience. "They'll watch it on the evening news, then turn if off and go eat their dinner" says one journalist in the movie. Is that not what we the movie-goer will do? Definitely powerful stuff.. caution that there is alot of blood and guts, killing and graphic scenes of rape and other things but in the end this movie is about the human triumph of spirit, the spirit to persevere and survive in a world gone horribly wrong so i recommend it, if only to underscore the fact that atrocities have happenned and will continue to happen in our own lifetimes unless we do something to stop it -------- Drama 1 hr. 50 min. Ten years ago, some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda; and in an era of high-speed communication and round-the-clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, almost 1 million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages. Release Date: December 22nd, 2004 (NY/LA). MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language. Distributor: United Artists |
| 01/29/05 at 03:25:41 |
| jannah |
| Re: [Review] Hotel Rwanda (if u don't watch movies |
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| Ember |
| 01/31/05 at 14:22:12 |
| [slm] I've been clammering to see this. I've followed some of the history of it and it is just plain shocking. My greatest fear is that it will happen again and again. Somewhere or other. When I read about the Auschwitz 60th anniversary, I could not believe that it did not get the publicity that it truely deserved. At the same time Jonny Carson's death was all over the news. Our priorities are definitely misplaced. I am glad to read this review. Hopefully will send this to my friends and convince them finally to see it. |
| Re: [Review] Hotel Rwanda (if u don't watch movies |
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| Ember |
| 02/02/05 at 09:58:18 |
| [slm] I watched it, finally. It was, as you said. The only thing I kept thinking was that we were alive during this time. Things that occupied my mind in those days seem so very silly. This is a must see for all of us who have our heads firmly in the sand. I watched the PBS documentary on the Rwandan genocide last year, and the film remained pretty authentic. If you can get a copy of the PBS documentary, you should watch it. It was more stirring. I wonder if we ever learn though. In the movie they air a radio interview where a UN official or someone calls whats happening in Rwanda at the time "acts of genocide" instead of "genocide" and the interviewer wants to know the difference. This is so similar to the UN announcement yesterday that the crimes in sudan were "war crimes" not "genocide" according to UN regulations. Its almost like we need very very large numbers, in the millions if we are going to take it seriously. Tens of thousands have become petty change for us. Insha Allah, we will atleast regularly pray for those suffering in these places, after being made aware by these documentaries and films since our 'news' does not like to upset us with reports of these things. |
| Re: [Review] Hotel Rwanda (if u don't watch movies |
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| jannah |
| 04/05/05 at 11:45:44 |
| Stadium premiere for Hotel Rwanda Almost 10,000 people packed the main stadium in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Monday for the country's premiere of Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda. The movie tells the true story of hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina's attempts to shelter refugees and rally global help during the 1994 genocide. Mr Rusesabagina, played by Don Cheadle, missed the screening due to illness. Survivor Anne, 46, who took shelter in the hotel, saw the film and said: "They portrayed human nature well." She added: "I was there. It reminds me of my family, I stayed there for a month, separated from my husband and children." Hotel Rwanda has received worldwide acclaim, culminating in three Oscar nominations in January, including one for Cheadle for best actor. Boos erupted during a scene when machetes were dumped on the ground, with cheering when Hutu extremists were killed by the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front. The screening at the Amahoro stadium came three days before the country marks the 11th anniversary of the start of the genocide, in which about 800,000 people were killed. Mr Rusesabagina's absence was officially blamed on illness, but there was speculation he stayed away because he recently claimed genocide was still going on. Belfast-born director Terry George was there. He said: "It was really important to come back here and show the movie to people in Kigali to let them see that the world is starting to get a message of what took place in 1994. "We are trying to see how we can use the emotion generated by the film to help the people of Rwanda, most especially the survivors." In January, the same stadium hosted a premiere of another genocide film, Sometimes in April, while yet another, Shooting Dogs, will be shown there later this year. |
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