Hotel Rwanda

Play trailer

Hotel Rwanda

PG-13

2004

2h 1m

Biography

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

188 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Hutu Paul Rusesabagina manages the Hôtel des Mille Collines and lives a happy life with his Tutsi wife and their three children, but when Hutu military forces initiate a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi minority, Paul is compelled to allow refugees to take shelter in his hotel. As the U.N. pulls out, Paul must struggle alone to protect the Tutsi refugees in the face of the escalating violence later known as the Rwandan genocide.

Critics Consensus

A sobering and heartfelt tale about massacre that took place in Rwanda while most of the world looked away.

Read Critics Reviews

David Ansen

Newsweek

07/06/2010

Cheadle, in his richest role since Devil in a Blue Dress, burrows deep inside this complex man, who discovers in himself a strength he never knew he possessed as he faces the disillusion of all the "civilized" notions he believes in.

Go to Full Review

Time Out

06/24/2006

There's a tidiness and sense of convenience in the film's stock characterisations and button-pushing plotting that detracts from its impact. The film doesn't just contrive to contain the slaughter, but also its own anger.

Go to Full Review

Dan Jolin

Empire Magazine

04/01/2006

4/5

Who cares about overdone orchestral blasts or signpost-waving lines of dialogue when such raw, naked, painful humanity is displayed by Don Cheadle in the central role?

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 3

3.5/4

A movie that continues to reverberate with such tropical -- and topical -- force that the ink is forever drying on its condemnation of a planet that operates with blinders firmly attached.

Go to Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

03/17/2025

7/10

Despite the galvanizing events taking place onscreen (highlighted by staggering shots of corpse-littered roads and other aftermaths of mass executions), what really sells the premise is Cheadle’s performance.

Go to Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/11/2020

4.0/4.0

Don Cheadle absolutely, 100% deserves the Oscar for Best Actor.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Sérgio N

@RT03383691 May 4

A heavy film with an incredible historical context. Excellent performance by Don "War Machine" Cheadle (Oscar-nominated), as well as other important names like Joaquin Phoenix and even the classic Nick Nolte. Despite being, unfortunately, based on real events, it uses a more restrained, less sensationalist tone, even though everything is still very violent, but without being too explicit. The critique focuses heavily on the indifference of the international community, especially the Western powers, the UN, etc., which certainly failed to act effectively to prevent that barbarity. A tough film, but extremely necessary as a historical memory, creating an eternal warning so that similar tragedies are avoided.

See more

Tyler P.

@TylerPhoenixMD Mar 29

This is an amazing piece of cinema! Amazing acting, felling truly in the moment. Covers a horrible event in the best possible way!

See more

Mark C.

@mrpiggy1992 Jan 17

Don Cheadle's best performances of 2004

See more

Aimee M

@Aimeetwoees Dec 30

Cheadle has an Oscar nomination for best actor. But this isn't a grandstanding portrayal: it is a performance at the service of the work.

See more

Richard P

@RichardPicks Oct 31

Don Cheadle gives a beautifully restrained tour de force performance as a singular voice of reason at the epicenter of writer/director Terry George's depiction of Rwanda's outbreak of genocide in 1994 when Hutu militias slaughtered one million Tutsis

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Aug 28

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Terry George

Director

Don Cheadle

Paul Rusesabagina

Sophie Okonedo

Tatiana Rusesabagina

Joaquin Phoenix

Jack

Nick Nolte

Colonel Oliver

Desmond Dube

Dube

The Aviator

86%

79%

The Aviator

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Aviator

The Queen

97%

76%

The Queen

Watchlist

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

61%

68%

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Watchlist

The Zookeeper's Wife

64%

76%

The Zookeeper's Wife

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Zookeeper's Wife

The Iron Lady

51%

51%

The Iron Lady

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: Boogie Nights, American Horror Story, The Back to the Future Trilogy, And A Lot More

View more photos

Synopsis

Hutu Paul Rusesabagina manages the Hôtel des Mille Collines and lives a happy life with his Tutsi wife and their three children, but when Hutu military forces initiate a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi minority, Paul is compelled to allow refugees to take shelter in his hotel. As the U.N. pulls out, Paul must struggle alone to protect the Tutsi refugees in the face of the escalating violence later known as the Rwandan genocide.

Director: Terry George
Producer: A. Kitman Ho, Terry George
Screenwriter: Terry George, Keir Pearson
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: United Artists
Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Brief Sexuality|Violence)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $23.5M
Runtime: 2h 1m
Sound Mix: Surround