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A powerful, moving film This is a film that haunts you long after you've seen it. What happened in Rwanda in 1994 was genocide--and more shocking than the events themselves was the fact that the international community stood by and allowed it to happen. Hotel Rwanda portrays the sheer brutality of the time, as well as the courage and heroism of people, especially of Paul Rusesabagina, in saving Tutsis and moderate Hutus from being massacred by the Hutu militias. The film is based on something that actually happened. Rusesabagina, a Hutu, was a manager at a four-star Hotel Mille Collines in Kigali when the genocide occurred. He was a great negotiator, knew all the important people in Kigali, and was good at bribing and talking his way through difficult situations, a skill that later not only saved his life, but those of many others. The killings started with the assasination of the then President on his way back to the country after signing a peace accord with the Tutsi rebels. In the beginning, Rusesabagina refused to believe that things could be as bad as some people predicted, but realized fairly soon that the Hutu militias were determined to exterminate the Tutsis. He fled with his Tutsi wife and children to the hotel; the militia left it alone, mainly because of the Western tourists and journalists staying there. This made it a safe haven for other Tutsis, who started to pour in, escaping from the slaughter outside. Rusesabagina believed that the international community would stop the massacre; he felt that once people abroad saw what was going on in the country, they would not allow this situation to continue. But this faith was destroyed when, instead of sending help, countries start to evacuate their nationals, basically abandoning the Rwandans to their fate. There was only a small number of UN peacekeepers left with orders not to shoot. Rusesabagina somehow managed to keep the 1,200 Tutsi refugees alive by using his negotiating skills and his contacts, both within the Rwandan government and abroad. Hotel Rwanda is a powerful film, with a superb performance from Don Cheadle as Rusesabagina, and Sophie Okonedo as his wife, Tatiana. Nick Nolte is excellent as Col. Olivier, the UN commander, a character based on the real-life commander, Roméo Dallaire, who tried to do something to stop the genocide, even if it meant defying his superiors. One of the things that shines through the horror is the love Rusesibagina has for his wife. Hotel Rwanda is not for the faint-hearted--there are some pretty gruesome scenes. But it is worth seeing--a sobering reminder that this scenario has been repeated countless times and will be, and that humankind does not seem to have learned much from the Holocaust. If you're interested in the events in Rwanda, there's PBS documentary called The Ghosts of Rwanda, which is worth watching.