Hotel Rwanda

For the non-American historical film I chose Hotel Rwanda. The film is the true story of hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina, played by Don Cheadle, who sheltered and saved over 1,000 Tutsi refugees during the mass genocide that occurred during the Rwanda Civil War of 1994. The film opens the eyes of the public to the genocide as it explores both sides of human nature – good and evil.

In terms of it being a historical film, Hotel Rwanda portrays all the parties involved in one of history’s most intense genocides. The plausibility of the film is never questioned, and the film tells the true story of the horrific slaughter of 800,000 people.  From the participation, or lack-there-of, of the United Nations right down to the Paul bribing the Hutu leaders to leave his hotel alone actually happened.

Many people might argue that the film is not old enough to be considered a historical film. However, the mass genocides that took place in Rwanda during the 1990’s will forever be sketched into world history. And the movie brings to live the actual horrific true story of what happened in Rwanda. Audiences will learn firsthand what horrible acts took place in Rwanda but also the heroism of one man who stood up against evil by watching this movie.

Saving Private Ryan

A historical Steven Spielberg film I chose to watch outside of class was Saving Private Ryan. The film is a WWII war-drama that stars Tom Hanks and Matt Damon.  The film follows a group of soldiers travel across Europe in the middle of the war as they risk their lives during a rescue mission to bring Private Ryan home after his three brothers were killed. Although the mission is not based on a true story and the character of Private Ryan is fiction, Saving Private Ryan in many ways can still be considered a historical film because of the events portrayed in the movie and the depiction of the harsh reality of war.

The film opens with the portrayal of the Invasion of Normandy, one of the most historical moments in our history. The movie does an accurate job in showing the event. From the name of the first company to storm the beach to the amount of causalities shown, the scenes from the Invasion of Normandy were correct in showing the shore just as it was with all the blood and dead bodies.

However, what really makes this film a historical film is how it portrays the horrors of war. The brutal conditions and experiences the soldiers encountered were extremely accurate. Losing fellow soldiers was an everyday reality and the movie does not fault on showing this. The uniforms were also accurate and the scenes at the cemetery at Normandy showed in the movie are the actual cemetery in France. The battle scenes were very realistic and so was how the cities and towns looked like during the war.

Although the movie is a fictional story, I think the movies historical accuracy in portraying the certain events and the horrors of war make Saving Private Ryan a historical film.

Saving Private Ryan

A historical Steven Spielberg film I chose to watch outside of class was Saving Private Ryan. The film is a WWII war-drama that stars Tom Hanks and Matt Damon.  The film follows a group of soldiers travel across Europe in the middle of the war as they risk their lives during a rescue mission to bring Private Ryan home after his three brothers were killed. Although the mission is not based on a true story and the character of Private Ryan is fiction, Saving Private Ryan in many ways can still be considered a historical film because of the events portrayed in the movie and the depiction of the harsh reality of war.

The film opens with the portrayal of the Invasion of Normandy, one of the most historical moments in our history. The movie does an accurate job in showing the event. From the name of the first company to storm the beach to the amount of causalities shown, the scenes from the Invasion of Normandy were correct in showing the shore just as it was with all the blood and dead bodies.

However, what really makes this film a historical film is how it portrays the horrors of war. The brutal conditions and experiences the soldiers encountered were extremely accurate. Losing fellow soldiers was an everyday reality and the movie does not fault on showing this. The uniforms were also accurate and the scenes at the cemetery at Normandy showed in the movie are the actual cemetery in France. The battle scenes were very realistic and so was how the cities and towns looked like during the war.

Although the movie is a fictional story, I think the movies historical accuracy in portraying the certain events and the horrors of war make Saving Private Ryan a historical film.