Hotel Rwanda Movie is Retelling of Human

 

By Brian Purchia
 
Ten years ago in the small African nation of Rwanda, Hutu extremists slaughtered¹ almost a million of their Tutsi neighbors as well as any moderate Hutus.  One man, Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, was able to save more than a thousand refugees from certain death.  His story has become a movie, "Hotel Rwanda."  It was recently screened at the United States Holocaust² Museum in Washington, DC, and VOA's Brian Purchia was there.
 
Blood flowed in Rwanda for a hundred days in 1994. When it was over almost a million people were dead.  As Rwandans butchered and shot each other the world closed its eyes. Joaquin Phoenix³ plays a photojournalist covering the massacre⁴.
 
JOAQUIN PHOENIX - in movie
"I think if people see this footage they'll say, 'Oh my God, that's horrible,' and go on eating their dinners."
 
'Hotel Rwanda' tells the true story of Paul Rusesabagina and how, through courage and cunning, he was able to save more than 1200 refugees from Hutu death squads⁵.
 
DON CHEADLE - in movie
"There will be no rescue, no intervention⁶ force.  We can only save ourselves."
 
Paul, a hotel manager in the nation's capital, Kigali, opened his luxury hotel to Rwandans trying to escape the genocide.  Paul is played by Don Cheadle.
 
DON CHEADLE, ACTOR
"It was an amazing privilege, I think, to be able to tell Paul's story."
 
The real-life hero was on hand for the screening.
 
PAUL RUSESABAGINA
"People were not informed, people were not aware of what was happening. The average American was not informed, some few politicians and few journalists were only aware, but the average American was not."
 
JOAQUIN PHOENIX - in movie
"Excuse me honey, can I ask you a personal question?  Are you a Hutu or a Tutsi?"
 
ACTRESS
"I am Tutsi."
 
JOAQUIN PHOENIX
"And your friend, Tutsi?"
 
ACTRESS
"No, I am Hutu."
 
JOAQUIN PHOENIX
"They could be twins."
 
NARRATOR
Sofia Okonedo plays Paul's wife, Tatiana. She hopes the movie will raise awareness⁷ about other conflicts.
 
SOPHIE OKONEDO, ACTRESS
"If somehow it resonates with an audience and they felt slightly different or take a little bit more interest in reading about it, Sudan or Ivory Coast or the Congo, then our job is done."
 
DON CHEADLE, ACTOR
"I also hope in just a very basic way that the film entertains and that people are sort of swept up in the telling of the story, because the story it really is a thriller⁸ with a real love story at its core."
 
The movie left quite an impression on the audience at the premier⁹.
 
ED RACKLEY, MOVIEGOER
"It shows the power of individuals to respond to an overwhelming crisis."
 
'Hotel Rwanda' has already won two prestigious¹⁰ awards: the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and the American Film Institute's Audience Award.  The movie opens nationwide in American theaters in mid-December.

Brian Purchia, VOA news, at U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington.

注释：
Rwanda 卢旺达
Tutsi 图西人，卢旺达与布隆迪境内的少数民族人
photojournalist 摄影记者
massacre 残杀，大屠杀
footage 电影胶片
Kigali 基加利，卢旺达首都
luxury hotel 豪华饭店
genocide 有计划的灭种和屠杀
resonate 共鸣
prestigious 声望很高的

1 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

5 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

9 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。