So far I have seen 3 movies related to the Rwanda's genocide of 1994. Being of Rwandan origin myself, I was a bit adamant on how those terrific event will b portrayed to the world on big screen. Movies have an entertainment value and the risk of the real subject matter being eclipsed by commercial requirement has always been on my mind. I am really looking fwd to see Sometimes In April that I haven't seen yet... I first saw "100Day" the film produced by Rwandan movie maker Eric Kabera. Its a low budget film done by Rwandan and played by Rwandan and depict the story of one family caught in the heights of the horror of 1994, its real and unapologetic. It has not enjoy the wide distribution that a larger budget film like Hotel Rwanda has. However, knowing that this film is produced by a Rwandan survivor give it a depth that Hollyhood would not be able to reach with all their stars and dollars...investigate if you can. Next up is Shooting Dogs, a UK production from UK Film and the BBC. Again, unlike Hotel Rwanda, this film is shot on location with a cast that include real Rwandan actors. The story is fictional but inspired by real event, situations and characters.....Let me say that however gruesome and shocking Shooting Dogs might be, you are still very far from the real horror that occur during the real event in 1994. Unlike other movie where event are sometimes a bit sensationalised, Shooting Dogz has managed to subtly show the horror of the genocide without neither focusing nor capitalising on the violence to tell the story. Instead the anticipation and build up to a very graphic killing scenes gives this movie a honest depiction of what the victim where going through only a few instant after the UN forces abandoned them taking all westerners to safety....The hard truth is on screen for the world to see and comment....go see them all if you can... Also the movie Shooting Dogs contains music composed and interpreted by singer Cecile Kayirebwa. The inclusion of authentic Rwanda's folks song in the original soundtrack certainly add to the realness of this African and global tragedy. In the hope of being able to watch Sometimes In April soon, I am relieved that people of all walk of life all over the world will be able to see material available, and maybe realise 1- how far intolerance can turn a simple human being into a killing machine. 2- More often than not, our governments and media works hand in hand to carefully select the informations we need to know. We have watched the genocide on TV without understanding and without caring to do so.....we were shocked and then, we went back to our daily life. With the release of theses movies, the story will b told in many various ways, its real, its very uncomfortable truth indeed.... Rwanda 1996 is a sad and shame-full episode of Global history that will neither be forgot nor erased from our history books to come... Vive Le Cinema
Review of Sometimes in April
