Hotel Rwanda

What to say?

This movie was amazing and touching. I was halfway reluctant to go see the movie with friends last night, but I decided in favor of it. Great move.

To be honest, I was somewhat skeptical before the movie saying: "Man this will be downer!" and other comments.

Well it was a downer in many respects, but for the most part, this movie was very uplifting, and I'll tell you why.

This movie, in detailing the crimes against humanity and the sheer hatred by one group of people against another, also went further, to affirm the good that lies in humanity. The lead character is played by Don Cheadle. He is a manager at a fine French hotel in the heart of Kigala Rwanda.

He is the epitome of selflessness--giving of himself for others when the time calls for it. I don't know all the history of the story besides this. The Hutus and Tutsis are both tribes inn Rwanda, and they basically are opposing factions. Apparently the Tutsis, with the aid of the Belgian imperialists, had held power over the Hutus for a very long time.

Well the day came, when the Hutus became tougher and more well armed and they set out for revenge against the masses of Tutsis. The result is tragic and revealing.

Don Cheadle finds himself in the midst of all of this. As you can imagine, as hotel manager, he is a man of many crafts, able to please nearly all sides. His Hutu heritage allows him to be on the in crowd with the Hutus, while at the same time wielding a kind and benevolent hand of grace towards the Tutsis.

As a man untainted by the evils of hatred and bitterness, he uses his diplomatic skills as well as his stature as hotel manager, to work out difficulties in the favor of both the hostile Hutus and the helpless Tutsis.

The movie is an object lesson for humility, selflessness and sacrifice. Not only that, but it is a scathing indictment of the West, in the sense that we could care less about the entire continent of Africa. Millions of people who speak 3,600 different languages and dialects, and whose history (Ethiopia) goes back as early as the book of Genesis.

After watching this it really hits home that we are now again in the midst of such a genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, but just like Rwanda we are very willing to do nothing at all.

Please watch this movie.

Cameron