HOTEL RWANDA

I admit, I had the chance to see this movie numerous times and put it off because I really was never in the mood to sit in a theater for two hours and watch a hard drama about genocide. It's hard to make yourself interested in a movie that you know is just going to slap you in the face.

But, sometimes you really need it. The movie dramatizes the true story of a time in 1994 Africa when over a million people were slaughtered in the span of three months. When Hutu tribal extremists began killing innocent Tutsi civilians, Rwanda turns into a panicked, bloody mess. Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, a manager at Rwanda's best hotel and a Hutu descendant with a Tutsi wife. When his home is invaded, he takes his extended family to the hotel for safety. Soon groups of people descend upon the hotel looking for refuge as Paul does everything in his power to keep everyone safe. And during this time, not one other nation reported on it or sent help.

There's no fancy camerawork or cinematic ambiguity to bog down the story. Every shot and every line has a purpose and you get really caught up in all the chaos and emotion. It's PG-13, so it's not as intense as it could have been, but I think that's to its benefit, as it will allow more people to watch it (hopefully in schools). And while it tackles a huge issue, it keeps it on a personal level as we see Paul's struggle to keep his family alive along with everyone else. As the situation gets worse and worse, you're right along side of him, hoping for someone, anyone, to end this horrible conflict.

There's really not much else I can say. It's well worth checking out. It's an important film.