Western cinema rarely provides swift justice. And in American and European entertainment, caring for Africa is usually reserved for lip-service vanity projects like \We Are the World."" But now, English director Terry George has teamed with American star Don Cheadle to create ""Hotel Rwanda,"" a searing take on the 1994 genocide with genuine heart to match its inevitable shock value.
The movie, based on a true story, follows Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle), manager of a European hotel in the heart of Rwanda. Rusesabagina provided refuge in the hotel for his wife and over 1,200 other Tutsis from the machete-wielding Hutu mobs, even though he was a Hutu himself. With little help from the United Nations and a deep-seeded cultural divide spurred on by demagogue political radio voices, Rusesabagina risked his life to aid the Tutsis, whose difference from the Hutus only existed from Dutch settlers' attempts to categorize Rwandans.
At times, ""Hotel Rwanda"" deals with the racial and political implications of the genocide rather heavy-handedly. But there is no light hand with which to handle these issues. The overriding horror of the movie comes not only from the gruesome public massacres, but from the sense that no one outside Rwanda noticed. What George lacks in subtlety as a screenwriter, he makes up in sensitivity to the story. He could easily have reduced the movie to a visceral parade of bloodshed, and he could just as easily have over-emphasized the hope to be found in Rusesabagina's story. Instead, he finds remarkable balance.
In a year of superlative leading performances, Cheadle's may be the best. Slipping easily into the accent, he holds the screen, as his character transforms from a successful working man to an unwitting hero. Cheadle's eyes might be the most expressive in Hollywood. They shine as he works the hotel lobby early on, then radiate humanity and anguish as the movie progresses. His transition from one phase of the story to the next elevates ""Hotel Rwanda"" to one of the year's best.
The real pain of ""Hotel Rwanda"" is growing attached to a small handful of survivors, only to face the reality that we are only a decade removed from the needless deaths of nearly a million others who weren't so lucky. But George, a former journalist, gets to do what the hotel's evacuated journalists could not do then: directly address the story with sensitivity, optimism and anger all at once.
Cheadle is complemented by an interesting supporting cast. Nick Nolte, Jean Reno and Joaquin Phoenix offer strong performances, and there is poignant symbolism to the famous actors' marginalized roles and ravaged looks. Meanwhile, Sophie Okonedo's grace and chemistry with Cheadle as Rusesabagina's wife Tatiana lend intimacy and unexpected humor to the sprawling chaos of the story.
""Hotel Rwanda"" stares at the face of a legitimate interventionist cause. And while nothing can reconcile the events of 1994, ""Hotel Rwanda"" has arrived offering two things the west needs in the wake of the Rwandan tragedy: a warning and a reminder of heartbreaking clarity.
