I) Background Information

Title: Hotel Rwanda

Written by: Keir Pearson
Terry George
Directed by: Terry George
Produced by: Terry George
A. Kitman Ho
Distributed by: MGM Distribution Co.
Lions Gate Films

II) Summary

Tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples lead to a civil war in Rwanda, where
corruption and bribes between politicians are routine. Paul Rusesabagina, manager of
the Hôtel des Mille Collines, is Hutu, but his wife Tatiana, is Tutsi. Their marriage is
a source of friction with Hutu extremists, including Georges Rutaganda, a goods
supplier to the hotel who is also the local leader of Interahamwe, a brutal Hutu
militia.
As the political situation in the country worsens following the assassination of the
president, Paul and his family observe neighbors being killed, initiating the early
stages of the genocide. 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 them to the hotel. More
evacuees arrive at the hotel from the overburdened UN refugee camp, the Red Cross,
and various orphanages. As the situation becomes more violent, Paul must divert the
Hutu soldiers, care for the refugees, be a source of strength for his family, and
maintain the appearance of a functioning hotel.
The UN peacekeeping forces, led by Canadian Colonel Oliver, are unable to take
assertive action against the Interahamwe because the peacekeepers are forbidden to
intervene in the conflict and prevent 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, for assistance. However, when Paul's bribes no longer work, he
blackmails the general with threats of his being tried as a war criminal if he doesn't
help. Soon afterward, Paul's 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.
III) Evaluation

The purpose of the movie is to inform with factual materials. The movie wants us to
inform that a great crime, a genocide, happened in Africa. A genocide, as defined by
Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a deliberate killing of people who belong to a
particular racial, political, or cultural group. The movie was successful in showing the
reason why the Hutus were killings the Tutsis, which went back to the time that their
country was a colony of a foreign country. The colonizer let the Tutsis, a minority
group, be the leader which have caused bad effects to the life of the Hutus. The Hutus
carried their hatred against the Tutsis for many generations. The movie has shown
also that there were a Tutsi rebels which was established due to the differences of
belief between two different ethnic groups. That happenings clearly implies that a
rebellion, most of the times, rises from having differences.
There are many themes shown in the movie. The first is that everything has a price.
Paul pays for his families and neighbors’ freedom and life by bribing an army officer,
even negotiating the price for each. He is able to purchase beer and scotch for the
hotel from the distributor, as long as he is willing to pay the price demanded. He
consistently bribes the army general for protection for the hotel’s occupants from the
armed militia. And when the bribes run out, so does the protection. The second major
theme is one of self-reliance, or absence of external help. Throughout the movie it is
repeated that the west refuses to help or does not value the Rwandans enough to
intervene in the genocide. The West’s refusal to intervene is seen when the UN
peacekeeping force has orders to not use their weapons. UN reinforcements arrive,
only to evacuate many UN peacekeepers and foreign citizens from Rwanda and the
hotel, respectively. There is also an episode where certain Rwandans who have
foreign connections are granted visas to leave the country because of the intervention
of their friends mostly from African nations.
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
ABOUT THE FILM
“HOTEL RWANDA”

A requirement in
GEC103 – The Contemporary World
Section Xx

JAMALODEN P. SALACAYAN
(Student)

2018