Hotel Rwanda

"Hotel Rwanda" is a powerful story of bravery, pride, and love, all driven by a tour de force performance from Don Cheadle. Some may be turned off by the political motives of the film, but there is no denying what the rest of Western civilization has turned away from.

Don Cheadle plays the role of Paul, the hotel manager of the Des Milles Collines. After civil war breaks out in 1994 Rwanda, when the Hutu's set out to kill all Tutsi's, the hotel becomes a refugee center for members of both sides of the fight, with Paul becoming the man that manages to keep all 1200 alive. In a very real sense, Paul is the Rwandan equivalent to Schindler protecting Jews in WWII. With chaos enveloping the country, Paul maintains a steady calm for others, and continues to run the hotel with a sense of dignity and pride. Without giving anything away, there is a scene near the end, as the hotel is being evacuated by the United Nations, that Paul takes the time to lock the front door before leaving. He truly believes they will one day return.

While keeping the refugees alive and running the hotel consumes his time, Paul also struggles to keep his own family, including his Tutsi wife, alive as they face the very real possibility of dying by machete. Meanwhile, the psychological impact of realizing that no European country, nor the United States, will come to their rescue as genocide occurs throughout Rwanda takes a constant toll.

To say that "Hotel Rwanda" is a sad story is not enough, as over one million of the Tutsi were murdered in 1994. At the same time, to say that Don Cheadle is the heart of the story is not enough. His ability to portray dignity and pride, with a belief in the greater good of man, and a powerful love for his family, is genius. "Hotel Rwanda" is definitely not a place I want to visit, but it's certainly not an experience I will soon forget. I give it an A.

"Hotel Rwanda" is rated PG-13 with a running time of 110 minutes.