Haggai
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2003
- Messages
- 3,883
An excellent cast and great pacing make this a very effective account of the modern day genocide in Rwanda in 1994, as experienced by a heroic figure who struggled to save his family and hundreds of other people. There are a lot of great moments between Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo (who plays his wife), alternating between humor, hope, and despair, as they try to survive the mounting horror around them. Several scenes in the movie go from laughter to tears, or vice versa, in almost the blink of an eye.
Although I'm no expert on the subject, I do know a decent amount about the real-life events, and I was impressed with the portrayal of some of the most important details about what happened. The mass murder of almost a million Rwandan Tutsis (killed by militias belonging to the Hutu ethnicity) happened in a very organized manner, with lists of names of the people to be killed being circulated among the machete-wielding militias. Instructions on when and where to carry out the murders were broadcast openly over the radio (this detail is particularly well-chronicled in the film), with barely any attempt to disguise what was happening. The movie strikes a good balance between the personal story-line of Cheadle and his family on one hand, and the broader story of the massive evil that happened on the other. Four out of four stars from me.
Although I'm no expert on the subject, I do know a decent amount about the real-life events, and I was impressed with the portrayal of some of the most important details about what happened. The mass murder of almost a million Rwandan Tutsis (killed by militias belonging to the Hutu ethnicity) happened in a very organized manner, with lists of names of the people to be killed being circulated among the machete-wielding militias. Instructions on when and where to carry out the murders were broadcast openly over the radio (this detail is particularly well-chronicled in the film), with barely any attempt to disguise what was happening. The movie strikes a good balance between the personal story-line of Cheadle and his family on one hand, and the broader story of the massive evil that happened on the other. Four out of four stars from me.