Hotel Rwanda

Well, last night I saw 'Hotel Rwanda.'

I have a confession to make. There are times when I feel so very low and hopeless that I need to see something or be exposed to something that reminds me that I am still in control of my own destiny. I decided yesterday that 'Hotel Rwanda' was to be that something.

I appreciated that the movie had no easy answers about anything. The war in Rwanda was easy but complex. It was definitely a morality tale about who your real friends are. Or is it? The hero of the story, Paul, got them through because he paid off a lot of people and curried favour. Pretty much as he told his wife, he stored some "Don Corleones" which totally saved their lives at times.

It's nice to know that everyone has a price, which seems to be an underlying theme to this film also. Paul was told by Nick Nolte's character that basically Blacks were not worth the trouble to save. White skin had a currency that Black skin could not match. The next level down, it was clear that Hutus has a currency that the Tutsis did not. Rather, they redefined it because in Rwanda's history, the Belgians made it good to be Tutsi, not unlike whites in America who made it good to be multiracial so long as you looked more European than Black, Latino, Indian or Asian.

There were other prices to be had. Paul probably would have risked more had his wife and children been safe and had they not been Tutsi. I know that Gregoire totally would have been gone.

I also appreciated the quiet moments in the film. The loving moments between Paul and his wife Tatiana, Paul and his family and the children dancing while chaos erupts around them outside the hotel.

In terms of acting and production, I think that Don Cheadle edges out Jamie Foxx. In my opinion he always has dramatically due to his awesome body of work. Definitely one of the most underrated actors of our time. I think that both are must see and both, while based on the real events were able to create a level of believability that made you forget that everyone is acting and that these are sets.

I wonder about Rwanda now. It has been 11 years. I wonder if they hear about Darfur and remember. I am almost tempted to find a penpal that could tell me.

I am reminded that I am lucky and that I have responsibility to pay forward.