Hotel Rwanda

Title: Hotel Rwanda
Year: 2004
Director: Terry George
Writers: Keir Pearson & Terry George
Starring: Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Sophie Okonedo
Music: Afro Celt Sound System, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Andrea Guerra
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Cheadle) and Best Supporting Actress (Okonedo); currently #109 on IMDb's Top 250
Length: 121 minutes
Synopsis: a hotel manager shelters Rwandan refugees
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great)
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and cinematography) c. 3.2/4 (Very good)

Very powerful movie. Great performances. I expected to hate this movie. I expected it to be the kind of movie (like Schindler's List) that makes itself immune to criticism because to speak badly of it would seem insensitive of the subject matter. I expected it to be a movie that had Something To Say more than a story to tell. It is decidedly not that kind of movie. There is some finger wagging in places, but it's an unavoidable byproduct of setting the scene, and I expect that if audiences were expected to know anything about African history/current events, it could have been happily skipped. This isn't a movie about genocide; it's a movie about people caught in the middle of it, trying to cope and survive. If it were purely fictional, it wouldn't be any less effective. It's suspenseful and exciting. And it's extremely depressing, which is why I only give it an 8/10; good as it is, I'm never going to love a movie that makes me feel crappy.  I actually had a nightmare last night that people were out to kill me and my family.  Not many movies can get into my head like that.