Dear reader,
This essay will be a description of a 'boring' movie, namely Hotel Rwanda. Sometimes I'm just wondering; why are realistic movies boring? In this essay I will try to explain what, from my point of view, can make realistic movies so boring.
First of all there is the movie itself; Hotel Rwanda. I could have taken a lot of other movies as an example as well, but I thought that according to my experience this movie is one of the most striking examples. The movie is about the ethnic conflict in Rwanda, 1994, between the Hutu race and the Tutsi race. The conflict was known for its horrible genocide on a lot of Tutsi Rwandese civilians. The movie shows a moderate and tolerant Hutu hotel manager (based on a true story), who tries to save as many Tutsi people from the Hutu rebels as possible by transforming his hotel into a UN bulwark. After several attacks from Hutu rebels and weak attempts from international peacekeepers to save the Tutsi refugees in the hotel, the manager finally succeeds in getting most refugees to safer areas in the country.
The movie is in some cases shocking and shows in a clear way the different perspectives of any modern war; cruelty, heroism and the ignorance of the western world. The striking difference with other movies is that in this movie, although present, both violence and romance/sex are not playing a major role. The manager is not shown as some strong bullet-spraying war machine but as a smart and caring person who tries to persuade his goal by outsmarting his opponents and thereby risking his own life.
Now again; why is this movie so boring? According to me it is simply because this movie shows real life in its worst conditions. Most movies will show a surreal world that is represented by strong men and beautiful women who change the world. It sorts of makes us willing to be those persons. They show life as an adventure and it makes us forget the real world we are in today. Hotel Rwanda however, together with some other realistic movies, is showing us no mercy in reminding us that we are wrong if we think violence is adventure. Therefore according to me this movie is something that is very worth watching, not for entertainment but to sharpen the mind and create some values.
8 opmerkingen:
Altough your review is well written, I totally do not agree with your somewhat naive opinion. Hotel Rwanda is one of the most gritty, intense,factual dramas I have seen over the last few years. This is one of those seldom movies which you still think about after the credits have rolled of the screen. This is due to its memorable story, the great actors, the artistry of the production etc.
The movie is nominated for three oscars and has won 12 prices. It is rated on the international movie site www.imdb.com with an 8.4 out of 10. So who are you to say that is is a bad movie?
Melvin,
Forgive me if I'm not being completely clear but I'm not saying it is a bad movie, defenitely not. It is in fact one of the best movies ever made. The problem with these movies are however that they are not very entertaining. It's not the movie; it's us, the watchers!
And yes, it is one of the movies I will hardly forget about.
Dear MArtijn,
I haven't seen the movie (yet), but isn't your use of the word "boring" maybe a bit misleading? The way you describe the movie, it seems to me that you have watched it with great attention, haven't you. So maybe "not glamorour"....?
Joost Frencken
Mr. Frencken,
You may be right about the word "boring" being a little misleading, but it's very catchy though and it gets people's attention.
Dear Martijn,
You've written a very critical review of 'Hotel Rwanda'. I don't see any grammatical or vocabulary mistakes. Though I think you should also watch 'shooting dogs'
See YOUTUBE for a trailer
See IMDB
A movie not meant for sensitive viewers.
Dear Martin,
Well written review, I do agree with you that this movie was indeed a good movie and it did not receive the media attention and glamour it deserved, as many so called "block buster" instead would receive. I think it is due to the fact we are being brainwashed with hollywood movies "soaked" with action and drama scenes.
Well Martijn, your scoop has really sparked up criticism. A job well-done! Ragards, Jannie
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