ANDREW SCHAFALE

Left to Tell author:

HOTEL RWANDA Immaculee
Ilibagiza
MOVIE REVIEW

Synopsis 5 Star Rating

Hotel Rwanda covers the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager
who saved over one thousand Tutsi refugees during the Rwandan gen-
ocide. The genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 took the lives
of over one million members of the Tutsi tribe. Despite the fact he was a
Hutu, Rusesabagina let over one thousand Tutsis stay in the
hotel he ran, keeping them safe from the Hutu aggressors.
Despite difficulty keeping the people healthy and safe, as
well as dealing with run-ins with the Interahamwe, Rusesa-
bagina persevered and kept every Tutsi refugee, including
his own wife and children, safe for long enough for the
United Nations to be able to provide transportation across
the border into Tutsi occupied territory.

Review
Hotel Rwanda is a very well done and enjoyable movie.
The beginning of the movie shows viewers the existing ten-
sions between Tutsis and Hutus and foreshadows the events
to come very well. When the genocide begins, the movie takes a turn, becoming quite frightening as
innocent people are slaughtered. The whole plot of the movie is very suspenseful and exciting to
watch, keeping all viewers on the edge of their seats. Each time the Hutus get close to the Tutsis in
hiding, the fear felt by the characters can almost be felt by viewers. Hotel Rwanda also includes some
unexpected turns to surprise you just when you think you know what will happen next. Hotel Rwanda
is a great movie for anyone old enough to be able to handle watching the use of weapons and vio-
lence, and I would definitely recommend it. This movie made me feel different emotions more than
most movies do, and the fact that it is a true story about a Rwandan hero, makes it a learning experi-
ence, as well as a way to recognized Paul Rusesabagina.

Connection to Left to Tell

There are many parallels between Hotel Rwanda and Left to tell. Both
are the true stories of people who lived through the Rwandan genocide.
Though one was Tutsi and the other was not, both were against the geno-
cide and helped to save others. Both also show how cruel and horrible
the genocide really was. Together the book and the movie paint the pic-
ture showing most Hutus acted like mindless animals. We see how the
killers murdered people just because of their tribe without a second
thought. Both the book and movie also show that the rest of the world
did some things to help, sending in some back up for the Tutsis, but per- Don Cheadle, who
haps did not do as much as they could have or should have. Both are played Paul
great messages and reminders to the world about the horrors that hap- Rusesabagina in Hotel
pened and that we must prevent things like this from happening in the Rwanda
future as well.