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IMDbPro

Hotel Rwanda

  • 20042004
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
354K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,763
47
Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Mosa Kaiser, Sophie Okonedo, Ofentse Modiselle, and Mathabo Pieterson in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Don Cheadle reveals why playing Paul Rusesabagina in 'Hotel Rwanda' changed his life forever and helped him to become an influential activist.
Play clip1:29
Don Cheadle on the Role That Changed His Life
2 Videos
37 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory
Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
354K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,763
47
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Terry George
    • Writers
      • Keir Pearson
      • Terry George
    • Stars
      • Don Cheadle
      • Sophie Okonedo
      • Joaquin Phoenix
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Terry George
    • Writers
      • Keir Pearson
      • Terry George
    • Stars
      • Don Cheadle
      • Sophie Okonedo
      • Joaquin Phoenix
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 706User reviews
    • 158Critic reviews
    • 79Metascore
    Top rated movie #210
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 16 wins & 49 nominations total

    Videos2

    Don Cheadle on the Role That Changed His Life
    Clip 1:29
    Don Cheadle on the Role That Changed His Life
    Which Roles Did Samuel L. Jackson Turn Down?
    Video 2:31
    Which Roles Did Samuel L. Jackson Turn Down?

    Photos37

    Sophie Okonedo in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Sophie Okonedo and Ofentse Modiselle in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Sophie Okonedo and Cara Seymour in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Terry George in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Sophie Okonedo in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Ofentse Modiselle in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Don Cheadle and Hakeem Kae-Kazim in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Don Cheadle, Mosa Kaiser, Sophie Okonedo, Ofentse Modiselle, and Mathabo Pieterson in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Terry George in Hotel Rwanda (2004)
    Noxolo Maqashalala in Hotel Rwanda (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Don Cheadle
    Don Cheadle
    • Paul Rusesabagina
    Sophie Okonedo
    Sophie Okonedo
    • Tatiana Rusesabagina
    Joaquin Phoenix
    Joaquin Phoenix
    • Jack Daglish
    Xolani Mali
    • Policeman
    Desmond Dube
    Desmond Dube
    • Dube
    Hakeem Kae-Kazim
    Hakeem Kae-Kazim
    • George Rutaganda
    Tony Kgoroge
    • Gregoire
    Rosie Motene
    • Receptionist
    Neil McCarthy
    • Jean Jacques
    Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole
    • Head Chef
    • (as Kid Sithole)
    Nick Nolte
    Nick Nolte
    • Colonel Oliver
    Fana Mokoena
    Fana Mokoena
    • General Bizimungu
    Jeremiah Ndlovu
    • Old Guard
    Lebo Mashile
    Lebo Mashile
    • Odette
    Antonio David Lyons
    Antonio David Lyons
    • Thomas Mirama
    Leleti Khumalo
    Leleti Khumalo
    • Fedens
    Kgomotso Seitshohlo
    • Anais
    Lerato Mokgotho
    • Carine
    • Director
      • Terry George
    • Writers
      • Keir Pearson
      • Terry George
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The screenwriter spent one year writing the first draft of the script. During the process, he called the Rwandan embassy in DC. The woman who picked up the phone was a survivor who stayed at the Milles Collines Hotel.
    • Goofs
      The land now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is called "Congo" in the movie. From 1971 until 1997, the country was officially called Zaire and would have been named as such in formal references. However, this area was known as Congo from 1877 to 1971. It would not be unusual for a character to refer to it as "Congo" out of habit or custom.
    • Quotes

      Paul Rusesabagina: I am glad that you have shot this footage and that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.

      Jack: Yeah and if no one intervenes, is it still a good thing to show?

      Paul Rusesabagina: How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?

      Jack: I think if people see this footage they'll say, "oh my God that's horrible," and then go on eating their dinners.

      [pause]

      Jack: What the hell do I know?

    • Crazy credits
      Part of the profits from this film shall go to The Rwandese Survivors Fund.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2005 (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Umqombothi
      Written by Attie Van Wyk & Chicco Twala

      Performed by Yvonne Chaka Chaka

      Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd. on behalf of Tela Music

      Courtesy of Universal Records

    User reviews706

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    A brilliant movie that deserved a Best Picture Oscar-nomination
    At one point in "Hotel Rwanda," our hero Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) asks an American TV reporter (Joaquin Phoenix) how the western world could not intervene after seeing scenes of women and children being hacked by machete-wielding Hutu militia.

    How could they not, indeed! As we all know, the west didn't intervene. Not surprising, really. After all, this was Africa and Rwanda had no oil reserves. The people being killed were innocent men, women and children, but they were poor and black.

    A few years ago, former President Bill Clinton apologized to Rwandans for not intervening during the 100-day massacre that saw about one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus slaughtered in the most barbaric manner. It was gracious of Clinton, but a fat lot of good his apology did to the people who were killed and their families.

    The Rwandan genocide - that's what it was, though western leaders split hairs over the meaning of genocide – also was a black mark on western nations, which simply got their citizens out of Rwanda and then remained indifferent to the senseless killings.

    Terry George's film gives us one story about the Rwandan genocide, of one hero, Paul, a savvy, clever and cunning manager of a swank, four-star Belgian hotel in the capital, Kigali. When the massacres began, Paul, a Hutu, sheltered more than 1,200 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the hotel and saved them from the wrath of the bloodthirsty mobs.

    Working from a smart script by Keir Pearson and George, "Hotel Rwanda" contains gutwrenching and emotionally trying moments not seen on the big screen since "Schindler's List" (1993). But whereas Spielberg's masterpiece was more arty and artistic - and I don't mean that pejoratively - George's film seems more immediate. Maybe it's because we now see a similar slaughter of poor, downtrodden people in the Darfur region of Sudan and, again, western nations aren't doing much other than threatening to rap the knuckles of the bad guys like angry teachers. This crisis gives "Hotel Rwanda" a sense of urgency.

    As visceral as this film is at times, George handles everything in muted fashion. We never see the horrors firsthand. There's brief news footage of people being killed and one particularly searing scene when Paul and his bellhop Gregoire (Tony Kgoroge) find themselves on a bumpy road. The moment's made more horrifying because George unveils it quite matter-of-factly.

    Making a PG-13 film about genocide requires numerous compromises. Putting most, if not all, of the violence off-camera is one such bargain George made. True, a closer look at the massacre would have rightly tortured us. But the film, nevertheless, works without gruesome moments. Pearson and George set out to make a story of heroism, survival, love and compassion amid the madness. And they succeeded.

    Cheadle carries the entire film. There isn't a false note in his performance. For years, he's turned in one superb performance after another. He's one of those actors who never hits it wrong and whose performances always stand out even if the films themselves aren't all that memorable. Here, he's in equal measure the smooth manager, man with a conscience and frightened husband and father. You can sense Paul's frustration, though Cheadle rarely displays any vulnerability.

    He gets great support from Sophie Okonedo as Paul's Tutsi wife, Tatiana, and Nick Nolte doing his best work in years as a Canadian United Nations officer, Colonel Oliver. Okonedo and Cheadle are utterly believable as a couple. They have one traumatic scene on the hotel roof, a quietly powerful moment that tugs at our heartstrings as we watch two people who love each other try to deal with what could happen. Okonedo conveys anger, fear and pain without ever turning the moment sentimental or needlessly overwrought. That's why the moment's shattering.

    "Hotel Rwanda" isn't flawless. George doesn't harshly indict the west for its indifference. Also, some scenes, especially one near the film's end, seem staged for obvious dramatic effect, to play with our sense of sympathy and dread. But minor faults can easily be forgiven because the rest of the film works so well, never sensationalizing any moment. The film's straightforward approach gives it more power, makes it more trenchant and meaningful.

    I would like to believe that we learn from history and the more powerful western nations will always come to the aid of oppressed people everywhere. But we're doing little in Darfur and although President George W. Bush openly touts his vision to spread liberty and democracy to oppressed peoples everywhere, I doubt he actually means it. After all, this freedom doctrine was something he created only after his initial justification for waging an unjust war - Iraq's supposed stockpiles of WMD - proved to be wholly without merit or fact. I doubt he actually considers bringing liberty to places like Zimbabwe or Burma. He speaks of the need for people to be free, conveniently ignoring some dictatorial nations - Pakistan and Turkmenistan, for instance - because they happen to be our allies. And so the dumb foreign policy continues.

    I can only hope the success of "Hotel Rwanda" will prompt other gutsy screenwriters and filmmakers to tell us more stories about the horrors that took place and the complacency of industrialized nations that could have helped and chose not to.
    helpful•56
    10
    • anhedonia
    • Feb 16, 2005

    FAQ1

    • Why did the International community allow this massacre to occur?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 4, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • South Africa
      • Italy
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
      • MGM/United Artists (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Kinyarwanda
    • Also known as
      • Khách Sạn Rwanda
    • Filming locations
      • Kigali, Rwanda
    • Production companies
      • United Artists
      • Lions Gate Films
      • Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $17,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $23,530,892
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $100,091
      • Dec 26, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $33,882,243
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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