Hotel Rwanda

ORIGINS

The film is set in 1994 during the Rwandan Genocide; in which an estimated 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi, were killed by Hutu extremists. During that year, Rwanda’s population of seven million was composed of two major ethnic groups: Hutu (approximately 85%), and Tutsi (14%). In the early 1990s, Hutu extremists within Rwanda’s political elite blamed the entire Tutsi minority population for the country’s economic and political problems. Tutsi civilians were also accused of supporting a Tutsi-dominated rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying President Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down. Following that incident, the genocide began. Hutu extremists belonging to the Interahamwe militia, launched plans to destroy the entire Tutsi civilian population. Tutsi and people suspected of being Tutsi were killed in their homes and as they tried to flee the country. It is estimated that some 200,000 people participated in the perpetration of the Rwandan genocide.Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina of the Belgian owned luxury Hôtel des Mille Collinnes used his power and influence to personally save both Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees. Rusesabagina regularly bribed Rwandan Hutu soldiers and kept militias outside the hotel's property during the hundred days of killing.[7] Following the carnage, Rusesabagina survived along with his wife and four children, as well as most of the refugees he sheltered.[7]

Sharing his thoughts about the lack of international intervention during the crisis, director George commented, "It's simple, ... African lives are not seen as valuable as the lives of Europeans or Americans."[7] Attempting to share the horrors of the genocide, George sought to bring the story of Rusesabagina portrayed as a humanitarian during the relentless acts of violence.

MOVIE PLOT

Tensions between the Hutuand Tutsi peoples lead to a war in Rwanda, where corruption and bribes between politicians are routine. Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle), the manager of the Sabena owned Hôtel des Mille Collines, is Hutu, but his wife Tatiana (Okonedo), is Tutsi. His marriage is a source of friction with Hutu extremists, most prominently Georges Rutaganda (Kae-Kazim), a friendly goods supplier to the hotel who is also the local leader of Interahamwe, a brutal anti-Tutsi militia

As the political situation in the country worsens, Paul and his family observe neighbours being killed in ethnic violence. Paul curries favour with people of influence, bribing them with money and alcohol, seeking to maintain sufficient influence to keep his family safe. When civil war erupts and a Rwandan Army officer threatens Paul and his neighbours, Paul barely negotiates their safety, and brings everyone to the hotel. More refugees come to the hotel from the overburdened United Nations camp, the Red Cross, and orphanages. Paul must divert the Hutu soldiers, care for the refugees, be a source of strength to his family, and maintain the appearance of a functioning luxury hotel as the situation becomes more violent.

The UN Peacekeeping forces, led by Canadian Colonel Oliver (Nolte), are unable to take assertive action against the Interahamwe since they are forbidden to intervene in the genocide. The foreign nationals are evacuated, but the Rwandans are left behind. When the UN forces attempt to evacuate a group of refugees, including Paul's family, they are ambushed and must turn back. In a last-ditch effort to save the refugees, Paul pleads with the Rwandan Army General, Augustin Bizimungu (Mokoena) for assistance. However, when Paul's bribes no longer work, he blackmails the General with threats of being tried as a war criminal. Soon after, the family and the hotel refugees are finally able to leave the besieged hotel in a UN convoy. They travel through retreating masses of refugees and militia to reach safety behind Tutsi rebel lines.

The film's epilogue displays a series of graphics stating that Rusesabagina saved 1,268 Rwandan refugees at the Hôtel des Mille Collines, and now lives in Belgium with his family. It also notes that Rutaganda and General Bizimungu were tried and convicted by the UN for war crimes in 2002, as almost a million people died by the time the genocide ended in July 1994

HOTEL MANAGER- PAUL RUSESABAGINA (HUTU)
PAUL’S WIFE-TATIANA RUSESABINGA (TUTSI)
U.N PEACEKEEPER-COLONEL OLIVER
HEAD OF INTERAHAMWE-GEORGE RUTAGANDA
RWANDAN ARMY GENERAL-GENERAL BIZIMUNGU
BAD HOTEL WORKER-GREGOIRE
PAUL’S ASSISTANT-DUBE
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS WORKER—MADAME ARCHER
RPF REBELS-(TUTSI) RWANDA PATRIOTIC FRONT
U.N-UNITED NATIONS

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