It was adapted from a screenplay cowritten by george and keir pearson, and stars don cheadle and sophie okonedo as hotelier paul rusesabagina and his wife tatiana. Hotel rwanda is an amazing, ultimately uplifting, reconstruction of a tragic, troubling time. Such begins what will become a genocide of the tutsi population. Free delivery on book orders dispatched by amazon over. For more than a decade, the film hotel rwanda has come to define a particular. Hotel rwanda is based on the true story of a man who puts himself in danger in order to save the lives of not only his family, but to protect the comrades of his fellow nation. Hotel rwanda is an excruciatinglytruthful and harsh docudrama addressing the rwandan genocide in 1994. And thats exactly how some the characters in pauls book are portrayed, unlike the. This is examined by looking at the leaders knowbedo mentalities and group dynamics. This movie is based on the true events of the rwandan genocide in 1994 that occurred in kigali, the capital and largest city of rwanda in africa. Hotel rwanda follows paul rusesabagina from a few days before the genocide begins until his escape from the war zone four months later. Today, rusesabagina and his family live in exile in belgium for there are. Don cheadle turns in a commanding performance as paul.
The rwandan genocide is a dark part of rwandas history that saw the death of between 800,000 and 1 million rwandans in just 100 days. As a hutu, married to a tutsi, according to their identity documents, he saved 1 268 refugees by sheltering them in the fourstar hotel des milles collines, in kigali, the rwandan capital. If the story told in the 2004 film, hotel rwanda, is true, then paul rusesabagina is a reallife hero of the rwandan genocide. How would you describe pauls level of empowerment throughout the movie. The 2004 film hotel rwanda recounts the efforts of hotelier paul rusesabagina to save his family and others during the 1994 genocide in the central african nation of rwanda. Jul 14, 2008 hotel rwanda tells the true story of one man s courage in the midst of this genocide. Views on paul as a hero why does the protagonist in the film hotel rwanda 2004 risk his life for others when so.
Best of all, hotel rwanda has a very strong moral worldview that extols courage, family, intelligence, and risking ones life for others. Based on the rwandan genocide, which occurred during the spring of 1994, the film documents rusesabagina s efforts to. In 2004, the academy awardnominated movie hotel rwanda lionized hotel manager paul. The hotel that saved hundreds from genocide world news the. Paul gets his family and friends into the hotel by bribing a local general. Paul rusesabagina saved the lives of 1,268 people by giving them sanctuary. An ordinary man with references to the film hotel rwanda overview written by nicole. With the estimate of about 8,000 people dead per day during this genocide pauls efforts that kept everyone in the hotel des milles collines from being hurt or killed was a huge success. How is pauls diplomacy and reliance on relationships with the enemy portrayed. Historpedia paul rusesabagina and his efforts in the. Paul has such compassion to the people, and yet has the smarts and deception to outwit the soldiers of the hutu tribe. Hotel rwanda questions help yahoo answers apr 20, 2010 i have some question about the movie hotel rwanda 1. Hotel rwanda is a film based on the 1994 genocide in rwanda.
Rusesabagina is originally depicted as a man with sentiments only to his family and the guests at the hotel he manages, the hotel des mille collines. Why does the protagonist in the film hotel rwanda 2004 shelter almost 0 refugees and. Paul rusesabagina was not born, raised, nor educated to be a hero or a humanitarian. But as time went on, he started caring for the other families and helping them survive. Here is a rwandan who faced down the militia to protect the terrorised families who. Paul with the help of the united nation is doing their best to prevent conflict from occuring. For example, rusesabagina addresses a common misconception. Hotel rwanda is the story of hope set in the midst of the 1994 genocidal slaughter in rwanda. Paul russesabaginaand his wife, tatiana make a good living in rwanda with their four children as paul is the manager of a belgian resort, hotel des mille collins. Hotel rwanda begins as an introduction to the main character, paul rusesabagina, a hotel manager at the des milles collines. We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families.
Hotel rwanda without the hollywood ending the guardian. Paul rusesabagina, a manager at a belgianowned luxury hotel in kigali, rwanda s capital, is as skilled at pleasing the hotel s mostly white guests as he is at currying favor with the rwandan army officers who frequent the hotel bar and the local. How did pauls definition of family expand to include the pick me as best answer. Hotel rwanda is the frequently harrowing story of a man trying to make sense out of chaos. Paul, who is able to get his immediate family to the hotel which is still largely. After the belgian conquest, the rwandans were split into two ethnicgroups. Tatiana rusesabagina 1958, rwanda gender in african. Running battles between the hutus and tutsis led to the massacre of more than 800,000 rwandese citizens. Sophie okonedo gives a powerful performance as pauls wife. At first he was focused on his family, then he realized what was going on when innocents were shot. Courage in hotel rwanda portfolio research project. The film, which has been called an african schindlers list, documents rusesabaginas acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them shelter in the besieged hotel des mille collines. Paul was born to a family of farmers on june 15, 1954. Georges is a hutu extremest, a goods supplier to the hotel, and the local leader of interahamwe, i brutal anti tutsi militia.
To be shot rather than be dismembered by machete before your screaming family was a mercy. I will never forget the eight days my family and i spent in hiding at hotel des milles collines. May 09, 2016 esther, pauls first wife, is now deceased and he and tatiana eventually had one son together named tresor. How and why did pauls attitude change over the course of the movie. There is a problem because pauls wife is a tutsi and the hutus have set out to kill the tutsi. As a hotel manager, he commutes to work in a nice car, lives in a nice house, and is generally very well off. Paul rusesabagina was an ordinary man a quiet manager of a luxury hotel in. On the night of april 6, 1994 paul s brotherinlaw and his wife visit the hotel to warn paul that friends have told them things would soon become very dangerous for the tutsi. Hotel rwanda goodreads meet your next favorite book. Hotel rwanda, released in december of 2004, is based on the true story on the life of paul rusesabagina, a hotel manager of hotel des mille collines, who saved the lives of 1,268 people in the face of genocide. Paul rusesabagina is a rwandan humanitarian who, while working as a manager at the hotel. As the situation worsens in rwanda, paul and his family observe neighbors being killed in ethnic violence.
I will never forget the eight days my family and i spent in hiding at. Georges rutaganda does not like pauls marriage to tatiana. Hotel rwanda learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Pauls attitude changed because, at first he only wanted to help and save his family. Hotel rwanda tells the inspiring story of reallife hero paul rusesabagina don cheadle, a hotel manager in rwanda who used his courage and cunning to shelter over a thousand refugees from certain death. How did pauls definition of family expand to include the community later on in the film. His tale is terrifying, well paced and well told, a shining example of how in. As revealed by the books title, rusesabagina doesnt consider himself a hero. Pauls many different sides are seen in the film, hotel rwanda, by terry george. Almost a million tutsis were massacred by their hutu neighbors, mostly by machete. Terry george, hotel rwandasdirector, takes us on pauls journey, showing the countrys struggle and how the world turned a blind eye. For more than a decade, the film hotel rwanda has come to define a. When pauls family gets the exit visa, for his family to leave the country safely, he stays behind to watch over those who are left at his hotel. Film tells story of manager who created an unlikely haven in rwanda by keeping.
It is the story of a hotel manager who saved the lives of 1,200 people by being, essentially, a very good hotel manager. In the midst of genocide, paul will need to use all of his prestige and wealth to save as many lives as he can. Paul rusesabagina is a rwandan humanitarian who, while working as a manager at the hotel des mille collines in kigali, hid and protected 1,268 hutu and tutsi refugees from the interahamwe militia during the rwandan genocide. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In rwanda, the classification of the native population into hutus and tutsis, arbitrarily done by the colonial belgians, is now ingrained within rwandan mentality despite the rwandan independence. However, the political climate in rwanda is unstable and the ethnic tension between the hutus and the tutsis soon leads to a tutsi massacre. What role did his wife tatiana play in shaping pauls actions. Hotel rwanda leadership by stephanie lovett on prezi.
The enclosed teachers guide, a companion piece to the film, is produced by amnesty. This is the true narrative of how one man, paul rusesabagina, played by don cheadle, is a hero who uses his wiles to call on favors and save over 1,000 refugees. As the political tensions rise, paul tries to alleviate the anxiety of family members by. What kind of person does paul initially appear to be to viewers.
Paul rusesabagina was a hotel manager who housed over a thousand tutsi refugees during their struggle against the hutu militia in rwanda. The questions go in order however, there are a couple of questions where the information is introduced throughout the movie but answered at the end. Today, rusesabagina and his family live in exile in belgium for there are still. The hotel was then owned by the belgian airline, sabena. After world war i, rwanda, similar to most other african countries, was colonized by a foreign power. The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only. As rusesabagina continued her career as a nurse, her husband flourished as a manager at the hotel des mille collines, in kigali rwanda. Helmer george mixes, surehandedly, the personal hopes and fears of paul and his family as they struggle to survive amid the carnage being inflicted on the tutsis and any of their hutu supporters. Paul rusesabagina bio, wife, children, family, rwandan.
I would recommend this book to anybody for whom the rwandan genocide. This manager over the years had kept a black book of anyone who was anyone who had visited the hotel and who. In fact, he still believes that he was just doing his job, as hotel manager. As he continues his daily job, he starts to become aware of a dangerous tension brewing in the city. In 2008, the book hotel rwanda or the tutsi genocide as seen by hollywood, by alfred ndahiro, a public relations. Individual heroism or interconnectedness in the portrayal of paul.
Based on the rwandan genocide, which occurred during the spring of 1994, the film documents rusesabaginas efforts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand. If i give a businessman 10,000 francs, what does that matter to. This movie is based on the true events of the rwandan genocide in 1994 that occurred in kigali, the capital and largest city of rwanda. An ordinary man by paul rusesabagina with tom zoellner. Ilibagiza 2006 and paul rusesabagina on whom the protagonist in hotel rwanda 2004 is based. In july of 1994 the hutu government collapsed and the rwandan patriotic front, a tutsi political force, declared a ceasefire. Hotel rwanda is a movie, which is full of violence on the one hand, and humaneness on the other hand. The movie hotel rwanda depicts this horrifying story, and closens up on paul rusesabagina, a man who helped save the lives to over a thousand people. Paul rusesabagina biography, wife, children, family, rwandan genocide. In terms of his definition he regards paul as a hero leiner 2014.
Hotel rwanda runs into greater controversy as its depiction of rusesabagina approaches the saintly. He used diplomacy, flattery, and even deceit as he worked to keep. While people and governments chose to ignore the 1994 rwandan genocide. In the environment where the death of one person does not mean anything, the heroic death of the main character deeply impresses a viewer. When the mass killings begin, pauls tutsi neighbors rush for safety to his house. Paul has a family, was the manager of a belgian owned hotel in rwanda, and used his well connections to save him, his family, and other innocent lives to survive through the genocide. Hotel rwanda is a 2004 historical drama film about the hotelier paul rusesabagina during the rwandan genocide of 1994. Diversity played an important role in the decisions made by paul and the u. When the genocide against the tutsis begins, paul is not as.
The war between hutus and tutsis is highly fuelled by bribery and corruption that mar the political scene in the country. Hotel rwanda is a 2004 drama film directed by terry george. Hotel rwanda is about the tensions between the hutu and tutsi peoples lead to a war in rwanda, where the corruption between politicians are routine, paul rusesabagina cheadle, the manager of the sabena owned hotel des mille collines, is hutu. Hotel rwanda explores genocide, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence. Answer the following questions as you watch the movie. Is the political, historical context handled by the film adequately. Was enough information given to explain why the genocide occurred. Paul s brotherinlaw tells them of a signal, cut the tall trees, that will be broadcast over the radio when the hutu begin slaughtering the tutsi. Apr 10, 2006 as genocide ravaged rwanda in 1994, hotel manager paul rusesabagina risked his own life to save the lives of over 1,000 people. The man is named paul rusesabagina, and he is played by don cheadle as a man of quiet, steady competence in a time of chaos.