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(About Our Ads) "HOTEL RWANDA" (2004) (Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Heavy Extreme Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Mild Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Moderate Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama: A hotel manager takes in refugees and tries to keep genocidal killers at bay as his country erupts into homicidal chaos. PLOT: It's 1994 in the city of Kigali, Rwanda. Hutu extremists are slaughtering their Tutsi neighbors by the thousands along with any Hutu moderates who may get in their way. Despite his wife, Tatiana (SOPHIE OKONEDO) and her family being Tutsis, Paul Rusesabagina (DON CHEADLE) -- the house manager of the luxurious Belgian owned Mille Collines Hotel -- is still trying to do his job. With his aide, Dube (DESMOND DUBE), by his side, he goes to visit black marketer and fervent Hutu supporter George Rutagunda (HAKEEM KAE-KAZIM) for hotel supplies. A smooth business operator who'd rather stay out of political issues, Paul's been storing up favors with the likes of Colonel Oliver (NICK NOLTE) of the United Nations and General Bizimungu (FANA MOKOENA), the latter of whom is willing to help Paul in exchange for bribes of fine spirits. Returning home one night, Paul discovers his family and neighbors hiding in his house. It seems that Tutsi rebels have killed the country's president and Hutu soldiers are now executing every Tutsi they can find. Faced with a precarious situation, Paul manages to convince the angry men to allow them safe passage back to his hotel. With the management now gone, Paul is in charge and gets the support of the international owner (JEAN RENO) to try to convince some of the less than loyal workers, such as Gregoire (TONY KGOROGE), to keep working. With TV cameramen Jack (JOAQUIN PHOENIX) and reporter David (DAVID O'HARA) capturing the chaos and growing genocide, and Red Cross worker Pat Archer (CARA SEYMOUR) delivering more and more orphans to the hotel, Paul has his hands full, especially when Col. Oliver informs him that the U.N. won't be sending any additional forces to help them. As things progressively worsen and he tries to get word of his in-laws' fate, Paul does what he can to keep the Hutu killers at bay, all while taking in a growing number of refugees that soon tax his physical and mental resources. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or are interested in the real-life story behind this film, it's not terribly likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 On appeal (meaning it originally was rated R) for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: DON CHEADLE plays the house manager of a luxury hotel who finds his establishment as a sanctuary from genocidal soldiers. He uses his wits and resources to keep the killers at bay and the refugees alive, all while worrying about his family. He uses some profanity and drinks some. NICK NOLTE plays a United Nations colonel who's mad about his organization's refusal to send more troops or evacuate those in danger. He uses some profanity and drinks some. SOPHIE OKONEDO plays Paul's loving wife who worries about him and their immediate and extended family. DESMOND DUBE plays Paul's faithful hotel assistant. HAKEEM KAE-KAZIM plays a black marketer who supplies Paul with hotel and other goods, but becomes increasingly wrapped up in the Hutu genocidal movement. He drinks and smokes. FANA MOKOENA plays a Hutu general who grants Paul safety as long as he supplies him with liquor and cigars. JOAQUIN PHOENIX plays a TV cameraman who, with the aide of the reporter played by DAVID O'HARA, captures the sights of sounds of the genocide in hopes that the world might do something about it once they see such footage. The former uses some strong profanity and both drink. CARA SEYMOUR plays a Red Cross worker who brings many orphans and refugees to Paul's hotel, all while trying to find out what she can about his missing in-laws. TONY KGOROGE plays a hotel employee who slacks off and refuses to accept Paul as his boss until threatened with physical harm. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a quick look at the content found in this drama that's rated PG-13 (on appeal from the original R rating). Profanity includes at least 1 use of the "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some nude women are seen cowering in fear (bare breasts/butts), others are seen in various forms of bikinis and off-screen sex or fooling around is suggested. Violence consists of soldiers killing, wounding or threatening others by various means (guns, machetes, etc.) with rather bloody results then and following unseen genocidal violence. Those responsible have extreme cases of bad attitudes, while all of that material and various perilous moments may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some/many viewers. Various characters smoke and/or drink (a great deal of the latter occurs and one character may briefly smoke a joint), while some tense family material is present (regarding missing in-laws and worrying about the safety of immediate family members). If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Paul orders cases of beer from George. Col. Oliver and General Bizimungu drink scotch, while others drink as well. We see a lot of beer and hard liquor in the hotel's storage room. Paul and his brother-in-law have beer. Miscellaneous people drink. Jack, David and another man drink. George, General Bizimungu and others drink. A bottle of wine is delivered to the table as Paul talks with his in-laws. Jack drinks with others. Miscellaneous people have drinks. Col. Oliver and Paul drink scotch. Paul tries to appease a soldier by having beer brought to him and his comrades. A soldier taunts some locals by pouring beer on them. Paul and General Bizimungu drink. On several occasions, Paul pays off General Bizimungu's help with a briefcase full of hard liquor. A hotel worker and a woman have drinks. Paul and his wife have wine. A soldier appears to be smoking a large joint (only very briefly seen). George informs Paul that he no longer has any hard liquor to sell him (but does sell him cases of beer). Paul and his wife have beer. Paul goes to another motel to round up hard liquor for General Bizimungu and both briefly drink from a bottle. BLOOD/GORE A boy has a lot of blood on him and Paul and others race to save him (with Paul getting blood all over himself in the process), but they then realize and are told that the boy's blood is not his. We see various dead bodies lying on lawns as a caravan passes by them. Jack returns with video footage showing men hacking various women and others with machetes (seen from a distance) and we then see various dead and slightly bloody bodies on the ground. Various bloody people arrive at the hotel. While driving back through the thick fog to the hotel, the ride gets very bumpy and Paul orders the driver to stop as he thinks he's gone off the road. Paul gets out to look around, but trips and falls on various dead and bloody bodies around them. He then sees that the road is covered with such dead bodies as far as the eye can see and that they were driving over some of them (which made the ride bumpy). They then have to back over some to get out of the area. Paul has some blood on him after falling into a number of dead bodies. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE All of those responsible for the genocide obviously have extreme bad attitudes. George is a black marketer who wants Paul to become more involved in the Hutu movement. We see miscellaneous people looting and destroying property. One of Paul's staff, Gregoire, refuses to work, is occupying the presidential suite and threatens to turn in the Tutsi that Paul is hiding if Paul pushes him too far. We hear that the Hutu are targeting Tutsi children in order to wipe out the next generation of them. Col. Oliver is upset that only white foreigners are being evacuated and breaks the news to Paul by telling him it's because they're black and "not even a nigger" but instead Africans. Col. Oliver reports that the international rescue forces are not going to stop the slaughter of the locals. A soldier taunts some locals by pouring beer on them. While driving back through the thick fog to the hotel, the ride gets very bumpy and Paul orders the driver to stop as he thinks he's gone off the road. Paul gets out to look around, but trips and falls on various dead and bloody bodies around them. He then sees that the road is covered with such dead bodies as far as the eye can see and that they were driving over some of them (which made the ride bumpy). They then have to back over some to get out of the area. One of Paul's workers alerts the Hutu supporters about the convoy transporting Paul's family (that then places it as a target among the Hutu militants). FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Paul arrives at his house at night where the power is off and no one is to be found. He slowly goes through his place and then finds his family and neighbors hiding in one room. A kid hiding in the bushes lets out a scream as Paul passes by. Soldiers empty Paul's house of him, his family and their neighbors who are hiding there. A soldier stops Paul and his group and tells him that he must shoot the Tutsi who are in his group. The soldier fires a demo shot and then holds the gun to Paul's head, threatening to shoot him. Paul offers to pay him off to save his and others' lives, and the soldier eventually agrees. Jack returns with video footage showing men hacking various women and others with machetes (seen from a distance) and we then see various dead and slightly bloody bodies on the ground. Armed Hutu supporters arrive at the hotel and confront Col. Oliver's forces as he makes his men lower their guns and not shoot. Archer states that she was forced to watch adults and children as they were murdered. As more refugees arrive at the hotel (many of them kids), they're forcibly removed from their non-local rescuers who are then put on vehicles to be abandoned (the sight of that might be disturbing to some viewers). Paul awakens to find a gun being held to his head by soldiers who want the hotel emptied. A soldier tells Paul that he wants the names of the traitors in the hotel or they'll kill everyone, starting with Paul. Realizing their dire plight, Paul tells his wife that they need a plan and that they can't let their children see them die first. He then tells her that if he's not around and things get bad, that she's to take the kids to the roof and jump to their deaths rather than die by machete. This upsets his wife but he says that's the way it has to be. Hutu militants stop a convoy, smash a windshield, pull and throw people from a truck and kick one on the ground. Col. Oliver fires some warning shots, a man is shot in the chest and presumably killed, more machine gun fire goes off, a militant slices a person with a machete and one then holds a machete to Tatiana's throat, angrily demanding her name. Paul returns to the hotel to find that militants have emptied the place and are threatening the refugees and others. General Bizimungu stops that on the outside and Paul races inside, desperately looking for his wife and kids. After a run in with some menacing militants (who give up when the military men fire machine guns around them), Paul then goes to the roof and fears that his family jumped to their deaths (as they earlier discussed doing), but the people on the ground below are just hiding and are not who he's looking for. As Paul and his convoy approach the safe border, they worry as armed militants march in their path and others scramble to assume shooting positions from the side of the road. GUNS/WEAPONS Machine guns/Rifles/Handguns/Machetes/Explosives: Used to threaten, wound or kill people and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Where do you think we are, f*cking Wimbledon?" "Oh sh*t," "Don't bullsh*t me," "Nigger" (what Col. Oliver says Paul and other black Africans are not in terms of foreign governments), "What the hell /do you think you're doing/do I know?" "Freaking," "Only good for wiping your ass" and "cockroaches" (how the militants refer to the Tutsi people). It's possible that those prone to violence and/or hatred toward others might be inspired to imitate some of the violence and/or mindset on display here. General Bizimungu throws a bucket of ice on Gregoire when the latter doesn't obey Paul's orders. JUMP SCENES As Paul drives down the road at night, something suddenly hits his car and breaks some glass. A kid hiding in the bushes lets out a scream as Paul passes by. The sudden sound of gunfire might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 8 "s" words, 2 asses, 2 hells, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "My God" and "Oh Jesus." SEX/NUDITY We see some miscellaneous women in various styles of bikinis by the pool. Gregoire is seen in a suite wearing a robe, just like the woman with him (implying sex or fooling around). A miscellaneous woman shows cleavage. We see some nude women cowering in fear while confined in a caged area (we see partial glimpses of bare breasts and the side of some bare butts as well as one woman in her underwear). SMOKING George smokes cigars several times, while various miscellaneous characters smoke in several scenes. Paul smells a cigar that he later gives to George. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Paul and his wife worry about her brother and his wife (and their kids) after they can no longer be reached. This continues for much of the film (various scenes of them worrying or asking others to help, etc.). Realizing their dire plight, Paul tells his wife that they need a plan and that they can't let their children see them die first. He then tells her that if he's not around and things get bad, that she's to take the kids to the roof and jump to their deaths rather than die by machete. This upsets his wife but he says that's the way it has to be. Paul decides at the last minute that he can't leave his workers and the refugees as his family and others are being shipped out to safety. Thus, he doesn't board the truck, causing his wife and kids a great deal of distress. He later feels the same when he hears radio urgings by Hutu supporters to attack the convoy containing his family. Tatiana is mad at Paul for abruptly abandoning her and their kids as they were headed for safety (he did so as not to abandon his workers or the refugees). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy of the story and/or any artistic license taken with it. Genocidal movements throughout history and how the rest of the world sometimes turns a blind eye to such matters. We see miscellaneous people looting and destroying property. We hear that the Hutu are targeting Tutsi children in order to wipe out the next generation of them. Col. Oliver reports that the international rescue forces are not going to stop the slaughter of the locals. VIOLENCE Paul and others get the report that soldiers are on the street, looking for Tutsi supporters. They see soldiers grab one man, hit him twice on the face/head with a baton and then use a rifle butt to strike him. Paul and the others retreat behind their closed gate and we hear screaming from the street. As Paul drives down the road at night, something suddenly hits his car and breaks some glass. There's talk that Tutsi rebels killed the country's president. We hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. We see miscellaneous people looting and destroying property. A soldier stops Paul and his group and tells him that he must shoot the Tutsi who are in his group. The soldier fires a demo shot and then holds the gun to Paul's head, threatening to shoot him. Paul offers to pay him off to save his and others' lives, and the soldier eventually agrees. Jack returns with video footage showing men hacking various women and others with machetes (seen from a distance) and we then see various dead and slightly bloody bodies on the ground. As more refugees arrive at the hotel (many of them kids), they're forcibly removed from their non-local rescuers who are then put on vehicles to be abandoned (the sight of that might be disturbing to some viewers). Paul awakens to find a gun being held to his head by soldiers who want the hotel emptied. A menacing soldier grabs Paul by the shirt. Hutu militants stop a convoy, smash a windshield, pull and throw people from a truck and kick one on the ground. Col. Oliver fires some warning shots, a man is shot in the chest and presumably killed, more machine gun fire goes off, a militant slices a person with a machete and one then holds a machete to Tatiana's throat, angrily demanding her name. A grenade is fired into the hotel, causing an explosion and small fire. Militants fire machine guns and we see some people drop to the ground. Military men fire machine guns in the direction of some militants. We see militants setting fire to some huts. Military men open fire on militants, mowing them down with machine gun fire (no blood). Reviewed October 26, 2004 / Posted January 7, 2005