I have been thinking what I would like to pick for my film choice and rather than going for a chickflick or such like, I thought I would pick a film that I have been meaning to watch again for a while, that is not only a great film but also very moving as it is based on a true story.
When I was travelling in 2012 I had the privileged of visiting Rwanda, it was one of my favourite places.Our visit was definitely one of two halves, on one side we went trekking into the mountains to see a family of Mountain Gorillas (truly memorable) and on the other we met local people who were survivors of some of the most horrific violence, visited the genocide memorial and various churches and mass graves of the people killed. I made a point of visiting the Mille Colleen Hotel (that Hotel Rwanda is based on) in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, as I had watched the film before with my parents. The last time I actually watched the film it was projected onto the wall of a hostel come convent that we were staying in in Ruhengeri in Rwanda. If anyone is interested about my experience I have put a link to my blog post that I wrote whilst I was there. (apologies for the bad spelling and grammar, I reread it and there are a few mistakes!)
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lucyreeve/1/1342678419/tpod.html
The one thing that stayed with me about the people in Rwanda was how especially lovely and friendly they were. They were happy to tell their stories and didn't want to forget what happened. They felt it was important to remember so that something so horrific would never happen again. It still horrifies me thinking that something like this happened in my lifetime and that we live in a world where people would brutally murder other people. This all happened in 1994 and over 2 million people were killed, whilst the western world turned away and were reluctant to help (probably as the country didn't have anything that would benefit them, like oil!).
I hope that you enjoy the film, it is obviously a bit of a tear jerker due to the topic, but I think it is an important story that needs to be told and a great film!
Awesome choices Lucy, I haven't seen this since I was at uni and probably never would have got round to it if it weren't for this! Looking forward to watching it again!
ReplyDelete×choice not choices.. Ha
DeleteWell after owning this film on DVD for many years (nearly as many as Raging Bull) this finally got me to sit down and watch it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good film it is too. Not really what I expected if I'm honest. Despite the subject matter the director chose to focus on the good in humanity. That no matter what atrocities are happening there are always people who will be selfless and help those in need. It showed both the best and the worst of humanity.
The film was also enlightening to what happened in Rwanda in 1994. It made me feel ashamed I had no recollection of the events or had never read about them. Yet I knew all about Bosnia which happened at a similar time. It has made me feel embarrassed by the lack of coverage it got in comparison to Bosnia . Was it because in Bosnia it was European whites dying? But in Rwanda it was just Africans killing Africans again. So flippant are we when things aren't on our doorstep or in a country with nothing to give the Whites. Or perhaps I am wrong.
Anyway, enough of the rant. This film was excellent and I'm glad I finally got to watch it (and Don Cheadle does a better African accent than British!).
Good choice Lucy.
Well after owning this film on DVD for many years (nearly as many as Raging Bull) this finally got me to sit down and watch it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good film it is too. Not really what I expected if I'm honest. Despite the subject matter the director chose to focus on the good in humanity. That no matter what atrocities are happening there are always people who will be selfless and help those in need. It showed both the best and the worst of humanity.
The film was also enlightening to what happened in Rwanda in 1994. It made me feel ashamed I had no recollection of the events or had never read about them. Yet I knew all about Bosnia which happened at a similar time. It has made me feel embarrassed by the lack of coverage it got in comparison to Bosnia . Was it because in Bosnia it was European whites dying? But in Rwanda it was just Africans killing Africans again. So flippant are we when things aren't on our doorstep or in a country with nothing to give the Whites. Or perhaps I am wrong.
Anyway, enough of the rant. This film was excellent and I'm glad I finally got to watch it (and Don Cheadle does a better African accent than British!).
Good choice Lucy.
One of the scariest films I've ever seen
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay...
ReplyDeleteSo I saw this film many many years ago and had forgotten all about it so thank you Lucy for choosing this!
So I am currently reading walking the Nile by Levison Wood and in the book he has just visited Rwanda. He goes into more detail on what happened and it just breaks my heart and just like Adam I am embarrassed by the lack of coverage and in put from us.
Brilliant acting and brilliant film.
Don cheadle performance was amazing.
I don't know what I would have done in this situatio. So sad to think that this happened in 1994!
Good choice Lucy xx