I saw this trailer just before 'Ray' and it moved me. Everything about it just looks excellent.
Now that I've seen 'The Incredibles', this is the next movie on my radar.
Anyone Else interested? Has anyone even heard about it?
I've known about this movie for a while. I'll try and catch it when it's in theaters, but that probably won't be until January, since it opens in NYC and LA the second to last week of December. Looks great though, as word from the festivals indicated.
I won't stand to watch this film. I saw a documentary a few years ago and I was depressed for a whole week. I hate humanity. And all the superpowers are guilty for this, France, USA, UK. I wish I was a religious man some times, cause I would be comforted by the fact that these monsters who rule the world will burn in hell.
I'm disgusted that Rwanda has been hollywoodised into a story of hope and inspiration. Audiences should not feel good about humanity when they've finished watching a movie about Rwanda.
It's a fantastic film. I saw it at TIFF and I was blown away. Out of the 50 films I saw, it was by far my favorite. The screening I attended (world premiere) was very emotional, because the man whose story is told in the movie....the man played by Don Cheadle, was there and after watching this amazing, moving picture, the director introduced him and he was given a standing o that lasted over 5 minutes. I really hope this movie does well, it's one of the better films you'll see. I suppose I can answer questions if you guys have any.
This movie looks like it's going to tell the horrible truths about what happened in Rwanda.
If anything this movie will promote awareness about what's happening in the rest of the world and hopefully prompt a surge of financial aid and public outcry to help such regions. Hopefully.
So I saw Hotel Rwanda this afternoon. I'm still digesting it, and I don't think it's perfect, but I finally have a film I can actually root for in the Oscars.
Don Cheadle was absolutely amazing, and the woman who played his wife was amazing as well. One thing that the director and screenwriters did really well was sketch out minor characters that you felt sympathy for--it's Cheadle's movie, no doubt, but every single actor and actress in the film seems to be a well-rounded presence, even if he or she only gets a couple of minutes of screen time. The director's good with his actors--even Joaquin Phoenix, who isn't my favorite actor, is ace in this movie.
As for the violence--it's PG-13, but still pretty intense. Much of the violence is suggested or shot at a distance, but that doesn't diminish its emotional impact. There's one scene in particular in which the violent event takes place out of frame (
a van going down a road has to stop because the road is covered with corpses, and then it has to back over the corpses that it ran over in the first place in order to find another clear path
), but it's still grueling to watch. It's definitely not a feel-good movie.
The screenplay will remind you of Schindler's List in parts, but that's only because the story (which is based on true events) is similar. There are a very few scenes that seem a little melodramatic and cliched (people running after buses and yelling "Wait!", e.g.), but there are also dozens of little subtleties in the writing that contribute to character development in a really nice way (
like the moment in the beginning when Cheadle's character hands out chocolates to a group of children, a foreshadowing of all the bribing he's going to have to do in the second and third act of the film, and the bizarre monologue that the corrupt Rwandan general gives about visiting a Scotch distillery
). The screenplay is up against Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Incredibles, though, both of which also feature excellent, subtle characterization--I'd like to see Hotel Rwanda win, though.
I'd write more, but I have to run--but, yeah, go see it. It's not a date movie, but go see it.
I still haven't seen it yet, but plan to either this week or next. I'm already rooting for Ray to bring home some Oscar gold, and I imagine I'll be doing the same for Rwanada after seeing it, simply because of the subject matter.
I saw it about a week ago, I really wasn't all that impressed. I mean, it was an emotional movie, but I wouldn't consider it a great movie. It had its moments and was well worth watching, but it's been a weak year and I still have no problem with it not getting a Best Picture nomination.
Even though Hotel Rwanda does veer into melodrama a bit, it is definitely worth seeing at least once. The film did a remarkably good job of contextualizing the events and presenting them in a digestable manner.
