Not another Rwanda movie
Got a screener copy of "Beyond the Gates" on DVD a few weeks back, and I wondered why I hadn't heard much about it before. Perhaps Hollywood only had enough room for one take on the Rwanda genocide, and Don Cheadle's powerful "Hotel Rwanda" filled that slot, end of story.
John Hurt, one of our least appreciated actors, stars as a Catholic priest who helps educate impoverished locals at a remote African village. His mission turns into a humanitarian nightmare when the assassination of the Rwandan president sparks a slaughter. Hurt, alongside a naive but kind English teacher (Hugh Dancy) try to save the Tutsi refugees fleeing the marauding Hutus. Shot on location, "Beyond the Gates" employed several genocide survivors in the film's crew. Perhaps it's cruelly appropriate that a movie documenting a genocide ignored by the global community got ignored by movie audiences nationwide. Feel free to buck the trend and rent this trenchant drama.
posted by Toto @ 9:45 PM
5 Comments
Links to this post
5 Comments:
Actually, HBO's film "Sometimes in April" was a much better piece on Rwanda that "Hotel" .... it really explained what went on, inside the context of a story. Filmed entirely on location, Netflix it ... good movie.
Good point ... it still doesn't explain why "Gates" got so little attention. I bet there are dozens of compelling stories that could be told from the genocide.
Sometimes in April is q more beter movie that explains all the political qustions involved. It let us to see that US din'd anything heres
I think this film was very good and was more graphic then hotel rwanda was and it showed a different side, either way at least its addressing the issue, something that really matters and is important verse our war in iraq.The man who made this film worked along side with Clinton for 8 years and he said clintons biggest regret was neglecting this issue
Gates got so little attention for the same reason that ABC 9/11 movie never made it to DVD. Hollywood folk are scared or reluctant to put anything out that might make the Clintons look bad.
Let's be real, failing your UN obligation to stop a genocide, that cost 800,000 blacks their lives, was a major mistake. No amount of African charity work or signing in black churches will make up for it.
The Clintons screwed up and their supporters don't want Americans reminded of that, expecially during a primary fight between them and an African-American.
Toto - how does this movie deal with Clinton's failure to intervene?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home