Review of Hotel Rwanda (2004) by Chris M — 20 Oct 2010

Pretty much agree with Schager's review. Though part of my problem with Schindler's List had to do with its lopsidedness in favor of showing the Holocaust horrors for so long before throwing in some Schindler-is-a-hero business at the end, this might go too far in the opposite direction. Of course, that different focus might be why I found Rusesabagina to be a more interesting and likable character (or the fact that, while still flawed, he didn't come off as a slimeball who only saved lives because he had a sexual obsession with the female members of the group he was saving).

In the end, though, this, like SL, fails to strike the right balance of developing the protagonist and showing the horrifying, uncensored truth of what happened. Watering down the material here only weakens the message. They PG-13'ed it.