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Hotel Rwanda
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Alumnus
Posted
Great acting by Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo. It would be ridiculous if Don Cheadle wasn't at least nominated for an Oscar for best male performance. The script was also extremely well written, and shooting in South Africa gave this film a chilling air of authenticity. Similar to Maria Full of Grace, it achieved a kind of neorealistic/documentary feel in a modern fiction film - not an easy task. Although the ending is too formulaic and upbeat, this is a memorable, important film with nearly flawless acting. Highly recommended.
 
Posts: 1871 | Location: Gainesville, FL | Registered: April 05, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
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I dunno, ever since I saw Schindler's List I've had a grudge against any film that takes a historical disaster and genocide etc... adn turns it into a feel good money makin movie. I haven't seen Hotel Rwanda, but I'm tired of movies like that where you coem out feeling really good even though you've learned nothing, and I get the feeling Hotel Rwanda is like that seeing as they have the adsact same plots.

P.s. What is it about Hollywood and the cliche "Photo Journalist"?
 
Posts: 2173 | Location: n/a | Registered: May 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
Picture of Josh
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Trust me. Hotel Rwanda is no feel-good movie.
 
Posts: 2281 | Location: LA | Registered: September 18, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
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Schindler's List sure was
 
Posts: 2173 | Location: n/a | Registered: May 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
Picture of Josh
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No, I don't think Schindler's List was, either.

Both of these films have a lot in common. They're both about people who managed saved lives during a period of mass genocide. They're stories about selflessness and courage and are extremely important stories to tell. You probably think they're fell-good movies because they show something good that happened amidst all the bad, but that's not correct. These films both depict incredibly horrific, disturbing events, and neither of them try to overshadow these events in any way. In both films, the genocide is not just the setting. It's not in the background. It's in the foreground for all to see. Hotel Rwanda in particular was made largely due to the fact that when the Rwandan genocide occurred, the entire world chose to ignore it and not step in and help. It's an important story to tell, as was Schindler's List.

Now if you're going to sit there and say that these films were made ONLY to make money, then that really says something about you, my friend. You should go see Hotel Rwanda before you throw out judgements about it, and then you should have a conversation with a Holocaust survivor or a family member of a survivor who was saved by Oskar Schindler. These are hardly feel-good movies. Go educate yourself a little and have a little bit of human compassion, and then get back to me.
 
Posts: 2281 | Location: LA | Registered: September 18, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
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quote:
Now if you're going to sit there and say that these films were made ONLY to make money, then that really says something about you, my friend.

Well, I say that about every movie Big Grin
 
Posts: 2173 | Location: n/a | Registered: May 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alumnus
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Hotel Rwanda is a feel-good story in a sense, but so are the real events that it was adapted from. Like I said in the review, I felt the resolution was a little too neat, but the film was excellent overall.

I thought the PG-13 hurt the film somewhat. I read in an interview with Terry George that originally it was going to receive an NC17, which would have been unacceptable, so the decision was made to include violence only frequently enough to establish that a genocide was taking place, and a PG-13 was given. Somewhere in between with an R probably would have made the film even more powerful. As it stands, there's never any doubt what is going on, but the cruelty of the killers could have been heightened by some additional scenes.
 
Posts: 1871 | Location: Gainesville, FL | Registered: April 05, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freshman
Picture of Kyle Trotter
AIM: Online Status For PhotoR3alism
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This film had exellent actors, and a good script. However, i agree it could have illistrated the atrocity better. Another, issue, just to be negative, was the fact that it felt exactly like Schindler's List, and this lack of originality, i felt hurt the directors credibility. Although, like i said, a good movie, i was on the edge of my seat, and the acting was solid, i would recomend it strongly. Big Grin


Those who hate me love death
 
Posts: 76 | Location: Toronto | Registered: August 25, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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