'Hotel Rwanda' -- Jan. 9, 2005
-- A weekly feature on This Week.
Even though we're not in the habit of reviewing movies, we're going to make an exception this week for an exceptional film. It's called "Hotel Rwanda." It tells the story of a hero, Paul Rusesabagina, who ran a luxury hotel in Rwanda back in 1994 when the Hutu massacre of Tutsis in that African country became a genocide. With his quick wit and uncommon courage, the hotel manager single-handedly saved more than 1,000 lives. Actor Don Cheadle portrays Rusesabagina in the movie, and he's this week's "voice."
Don Cheadle, actor: "I can't imagine what he actually had to deal with. Never. Every day really believing that it was his last day on Earth. Waking up with soldiers, with guns in your face, seeing your family prostrate on the ground with guns in the back of their head. I mean, it's unbelievable what he experienced and what he went through.
"He was someone who just-- The soldiers came, they said, 'If you don't bring everybody outside, we're going to kill them.' He said, 'Well, hey, take some liquor.' And they would go away and come back. And he said, 'Hey man, I got some cigars.' And he would tell the general, 'How do you think history is going to smile, look on you and after this is all over?'
"He said, 'I could not have lived my life knowing that I had turned friends away and people that I cared about,' so it was a very personal thing for him. And he really thought that many, many people around the country were doing the same thing. It was only after it was all over that he sadly realized that that wasn't the case.
"It's very easy to just click on MTV and not think about it. It's really the line that Joaquin has in the film."
Joaquin Phoenix (clip of him in character in "Hotel Rwanda"): "If people see this footage they'll say, 'Oh my god, that's horrible,' and go on eating their dinners."
Cheadle: "The best thing this film can do is sensitize people to these events that so few people really understand and know about. And you would hope that the legacy of this film and the legacy of Rwanda would be really international involvement on a scale that would hope to ensure that these things never happen again. But I can't sit here and say I have a lot of faith that that will happen.
"I think the amazing thing that I've learned from Paul is, when I went to Africa to meet him, I was expect-- I don't know what I was expecting. But what I found was just a man. What I found was a man who loved life and loved to eat and drink and tell stories and sit and be with his family and hear about your life. And I think it was inspiring because it made me believe that we all have the capacity. You know, we all have the capacity to be extraordinary. We all have the capacity to step up, so to speak, in times of adversity. Because here's this man who's just a man and he did. We all have the capacity for both, but we are creatures of good more than evil, I do believe."
In the Sunday "Funnies," we see how the late-night comedians heralded the return of Congress.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
Stewart: And now from Washington, D.C., let's meet your 109th United States Congress. You all ready for this? First the Republicans, led by Dennis Hastert leading the league in pork, both legislative and, clearly, consumed. And, oh doctor! Here's Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, still not sure weather you can get AIDS from teardrops. Here come the Democrats.
[Vintage comic footage of a jalopy pulling up to the curb]
Stewart: It's been a rough year.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
Leno: And Congress returned to session yesterday after about a month off. Did you even notice they were gone? See, that's when you know you have a government job, OK. Can you think of any other job when you can leave for a month, and nobody even knows you weren't there?
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
Stewart: So, I imagine the Congress will be talking about privatizing Social Security.
Stephen Colbert: Done.
Stewart:And they're going to want to change the tax code.
Colbert:"Done. Knocked that out by lunch.
Stewart: Really?
Colbert:John, it's amazing how much you can get done without opposition. I mean, checks and balances: Who came up with that?
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