Movie Battle: Hotel Rwanda Vs. Shooting Dogs

The movies who will go head to head are both set in Rwanda and deal with the genocide. They’re both favorites of mine, but who will I choose as the winner.

CAST

Hotel Rwanda: Don Cheadle plays the leading character and he is the only memorable actor in this movie. His performance is so realistic and heartbreaking. Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix are also part of the cast, they’re just solid.

Shooting Dogs: John Hurt plays the role of Christopher, a man of faith who’s life is dedicated to the school and church he has set up in Rwanda. Hugh Dancy is the likeable Joe, a teacher who tries to make a difference. Both actor are very realistic and strong.

STORY

Hotel Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina is a hotel manager who housed a thousand tutsi refugees and it’s an amazing true story. It got a lot of attention at the Academy Awards.

Shooting Dogs: This movie has been based on actual events, the characters are fictional, but it's a bit more confronting then “Hotel Rwanda”. It’s really heart wrenching to see that the United Nations left all those people there and only the ‘white people’ could be evacuated. I think this movie was a bit overlooked.

EFFECTS

Hotel Rwanda: Nicely filmed, don’t really have any negative points here.

Shooting Dogs: It all looks very realistic. I’ve been to Uganda, the neighbour country and parts of it look similar to Rwanda. The color scheme that was used to film “Shooting Dogs” is perfect.

WINNER

A close call, but I will go with “Shooting Dogs”. Most people would choose the other one, but I think “Shooting Dogs” is just a little bit more confronting and touched me slightly more then “Hotel Rwanda”.