I went to see this movie last night at the Avon Cinemas in Providence. I was so moved by the acts of Paul Rusesabagina, the man portrayed by Don Cheadle. To give a quick synopsis, Paul is the manager of the Hotel Mille Collines in Rwanda in 1994 when Hutu rebels begin a 100 day campaign of genocide. They attempt to wipe out the Tutsi population.
The hotel is a five star luxury hotel which catered to many rich guests. But as the violence approached Kugali where the hotel was located, the guests left and the hotel became haven to many refugees. Rusesabagina saved over 1,200 Tutsis and spared their lives. Paul was a Hutu and did all he could through bribes, pleading and phone calls to keep the Hutus from killing the refugees.
While Rusesabagina himself says the movie is 90% accurate, the portrayal of the bloodshed and the genocide is extremely moving. And the acts of kindness by Paul which comes through in the movie has stayed with me.
Do what you can to see this movie. While the awards the movie has been nominated for are secondary, the more important message of the movie is to prevent genocide. The unfortunate thing is that the Hutus moved to the Congo and are continuing their attack on the Tutsis. Hopefully, more can be done to stop the attacks.
