Cinema Saturday: Hotel Rwanda

I want to try to watch one movie every week and post dish about it on Saturday.....a movie review of sorts. I know that this may not happen every Saturday because I might not watch a movie or be out of town, who knows! But, I'm surely going to do my best. I will try not to spoil anything important and if I do I will apologize ahead of time.....even better, if I know I'm going to spoil something and it's a movie you really want to watch, I will forewarn you with "SPOILER ALERT!" Sound fair enough? Well alrighty then, let's get to my very fist movie review.

This is actually the 2nd time I have watched Hotel Rwanda. Normally I wouldn't write about a movie I have already seen but this movie is so amazing that I couldn't pass it up. Last night J and had a little date night (thanks to my mom and stepdad for taking the kiddos for a few hours). We just had dinner and wandered around downtown Bend, OR. Even though it wasn't anything fancy, it was nice to get out alone for awhile.....we don't get to do this that often and it was extremely overdue. When we got home and tucked the kids in for the night I just felt like curling up on the couch for a movie. I thought about ordering pay-per-view and then changed my mind when I saw that Hotel Rwanda was about to start on the movie channel. This is one of those movies that tugs at your heart each and every time you watch it. The first time I watched it I actually had never heard of it. It was a requirement for a college class J was taking at the time. I was shocked that I hadn't seen it or let alone heard of it before. Although I was pretty young at the time, I do remember when this tragic event unfolded and awful, heart-wrenching photos were all over the news. If you don't know (or just don't remember), in 1994 there was a mass genocide in Rwanda, located in East Africa. Over 800,000 Tutsi people were murdered by the Hutu. I am no historian so I will in no way try to explain how this started or unfolded over time, but there is a massive amount of information on the internet.

So, what exactly is Hotel Rwanda about?

Here is a brief synopsis:
*It is based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a fancy hotel in Rwanda who houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during this struggle with the Hutu militia. Paul is actually a Hutu, but his wife and many of his friends are Tutsi. The rest of the world basically just watches this war ensue and does nothing to help. The UN attempts to intervene at one point without much success. Despite their best efforts, these people are left to fend for themselves and watch as their friends and family are slaughtered by the Hutu extremists.

Paul is played by Don Cheadle (who I think is a phenomenal actor). His portrayal of this character is beyond words. He captures the emotions and inner struggles of the position he is put in so well. Other actors you will know are Nick Nolte, who plays the UN peacekeeping colonel, and Joaquin Phoenix has a small role as a journalist.

If you haven't seen Hotel Rwanda, you need absolutely have to get your booty to see it ASAP. Rent it or find it on a movie channel, whatever you must do....this movie is by far one of the best true life portrayals you will ever see. Beware: it is very sad one of the saddest movies I have ever seen and can make you cringe, but the fact is it happened. It really happened and all of those people suffered more than most of us could ever imagine was possible.

Hotel Rwanda is a #1 movie in my book! If you choose to watch it, or have already seen it, I hope you love and appreciate it as much I do.

Happy Saturday!

XOXO,
Ashley