Heap Hope Angels

在刚过的礼拜六下午（2008年12月27日），和太太赴了她的大学同学的婚宴后，我们就驱车到CINEPlex去赴两场很MAN的影片。

第一场show是叫做’YES MAN‘。为了不要倒那些可能会去看这部片子的人的胃口，我暂且不在这边大事分享片子的内容。这里只跟大家分享我看了戏的观后感。

顾名思议，影片的用意就是要鼓励大家在生活中要经常保持正面积极的态度，那么，漂亮以及令人垂涎三尺的机会才不会跟我们擦身而过。金。凯利（JIM CARREY）在片中所饰演的主角就是通过了一堂激励课程，而学会如何跟生命SAY ‘YES’，并且从中得到了意想不到的结局，并得到了美人归，升职加薪，一洗先前的潦倒生活。

隐隐约约中，我似乎在金。凯利身上或多或少看到了自己的影子。约３－４年前的我，当时就算是生意并不如先前想象中来的好，但是我依然对任何一个生意契机都抱持着超正面的态度。就这样，我现在的大老板当时因为欣赏我为他分享产品时的那种兴致勃勃的兴奋度，以及我谈吐大胆的风格，而招聘我来他的公司担当培训主管一职。要是当年我因为生意不好而就此放弃一切，向生命低头同时死命跟所有的机会SAY NO的话，试问一下，现在这个待遇颇好，员工福利又到味的职位不是就会与我擦身而过了吗？

再来，一年半前，当我妹妹和老妈子很够力那样地鼓励我参加当年的‘阳光天使’，而内在还相当恐惧的我要不是硬着头皮SAY YES的话（我因为从来都没有真正照顾过任何残障朋友，所以才会开始时有一种抗拒的感觉），我相信我就不会有这个机会到台上演绎我最擅长的搞笑版雷奇并得到当晚的‘最佳男主角’，同时，在今年的12月，也跟美门的其中一个很可爱的志工‘共结连理’。相信认识我的人，都知道我讲的人是‘何方神圣’吧．．．？！

所以，当我们在观赏YES MAN 的同时，我非常的感同身受，因为金。凯利实在太像我了！！其实。。。应该说我实在太像金。凯利！

更重要的是，在影片结尾之前，激励讲师所说的那番话更是引人入思。当时，金。凯利因为sayYES的次数太频繁，而招惹了相当多不必要的麻烦，而迫使女朋友与他大吵了一顿。

生气之下，他就到讲师那儿跟他理论。讲师说， ‘是的，我是鼓励你凡事都要Say Yes，但我并没有叫你就算不想SAY YES时也胡乱地随便答应人呀！！SAY YES 时也要发自内心的啊，朋友！！’

是的！！发自内心的YES才会深入民心，才会让人感觉我们的诚意，并因此毫无忌禅地与我们交往。希望我们都能够成为SAY YES之中的佼佼者！！

由于不想模糊了大家的焦点，我所观看另一个很MAN的戏（叫做IP MAN）就留待下回分享了！！

祝福大家――２００９超丰盛，身体充满无比的活力！！

比没钱更穷的时候，你体验过吗？

《钱不够用2》是一部反应社会民情、写实的电影，利用真实的事件为观众献上一幕幕即令人捧腹大笑又感同身受的连场好戏！

故事以杨家的三兄弟，分别是由程旭辉、梁智强和李国煌饰演的杨宝辉、杨宝强和杨宝煌，为主线展开。虽然这三个人是亲兄弟，从小都在新加坡的中等阶层的家庭成长，但是这三人在长大后，都将代表新加坡三个不同收入、不同阶级的人物。

大哥杨宝辉代表地下层阶级，由于小时候家里比较穷，所以提早到社会上工作，在一间运输公司做了三十年，为了想赚更多的钱，在弟弟杨宝煌的怂恿下，兼职传销保健产品。开始的时候保健产品还卖得不错，宝辉赚了不少钱，他决定辞掉工作，全时间投入传销生意，可惜好景不长，有人吃了保健产品出事，传销生意被迫搁置。面对堆积如山、卖不出的产品，宝辉一家顿时陷入经济拮据…。

二哥杨宝强所代表的是老板的阶级。在这个“先敬罗衣后敬人”的社会里，杨宝强衣着光鲜，住大房子，开大汽车，似乎过着不愁吃不愁穿的日子，但是，他却因想赚更多，学人炒房地产，结果资金被卷走，让他也陷入经济危机之中。

老三杨宝煌代表的自然就是打工的阶级，身为保健产品传销公司区域代理的他，月入丰厚。然而，由于他应酬甚多，生活自然绚丽多姿，花费更是特别地高，因此，根本没有什么积蓄，后来保健生意被迫停盘，他也因此陷入经济危机。

电影除了反应三兄弟在理财不当上的喜和忧，也加入三兄弟和母亲关系的一条家庭温馨主线。 三兄弟由于忙碌地为生计奔波，因此都疏于照顾年迈的母亲。当然，在物质上，三人从来都对母亲相当慷慨，但是在感情上，对于母亲的关怀却是少得可怜，过程中带出讽刺人情的冷暖、更幽了“孝顺”这个定义一默……

《钱不够用 2 》通过这三个主角不同形式，不同阶级，不同程度的“钱不够用”，加上与母亲、孩子之间的矛盾，让观众深刻体会现代社会的人们每天都在重复经历的甜酸苦辣、欢喜忧愁，即达到取得共鸣的效果，更发挥自嘲的讽刺，绝对是举家共赏的一部好戏。

Source : Money Not Enough 2

片中花絮

杨宝辉要做传销生意资金不够时，他向妈妈借钱，妈妈就从苏打饼盒里拿出她的老本给了他；当他们三兄弟生意失败需要资金周转时，妈妈也从苏打饼盒里拿出她的老本给了他们。

杨宝辉问妈妈和太太：“如果我没当Manager，你会不会看不起我？”妈妈却说：“你当不当Manager，还是我的孩子。”太太说：“你当不当Manager，还是我的老公”。这个温馨场面，说明了在没钱的时候，最重要的是家人的支持和鼓励。

杨宝强一家人，为了生活三餐，从大房子搬到小房子；太太也重出歌坛，带着女儿到处跑台。

杨宝煌在风光的时候，经常欺负太太。当他生意失败时，他的太太为了替他还债竟然挪用了公款，被判坐牢一年。他的太太为他的牺牲，令他再次发奋图强，一切从零开始。

这个时候，妈妈年老体衰，得了老人痴呆症，三兄弟就决定了妈妈轮流在他们的家住。疲于生活劳碌，还要照顾年迈的妈妈，三兄弟开始有怨言，讨论的结果，就是把妈妈送到老人院。在妈妈不知情的情况下，杨宝辉送妈妈到了老人院。妈妈知道进了老人院，眼泪满眶，一直闹着说她不要住进去。杨宝辉虽然不舍得，却含着泪离开……直到妈妈突然晕倒，杨宝辉才回头。

妈妈进了院。这个时候，杨宝强的女儿车祸入院，需要O-的血型急救。医院里只有两包O-的血型，刚好送去给妈妈急救了。杨宝强的太太不管三七二十一，冲进了妈妈的急救室，抢了那两包血要救他的女儿……

三兄弟在争论，要救妈妈还是救女儿。妈妈听到了，就拆掉嘴里的氧气管，放弃了她的生命，把那两包血留给她的孙女……

毋庸置疑，这是一部可以使观众深思的笑剧；剧情，也带出了人们对现实中所需要抉择的无奈。

观后语

天下的爸爸妈妈都是为子女着想、打算。孩子小的时候，可以为孩子倒屎倒尿、擦屁股、洗澡、喂饭、穿衣服等等，甚至在落魄穷籍时，他们也不会抛下孩子。可是，当孩子长大了，往往孩子因为嫌弃爸爸妈妈年老体衰，而送他们到老人院，有些甚至不闻不问。

养儿防老，已经不再是现代的保险了。剧中的一首歌“妈妈，原来只是一个名”，很贴切地表达了剧中妈妈的心情。

妈妈，原来只是一个名

从小的时候 你疼爱他们
将他当成心肝 疼爱如命
希望孩子可以健康长大

你的一生 用性命來拖
现在是为了什么 你会躺在这儿？
没人来管你 是死是活
一世人艰苦 没有人说感谢
也没有人来看看你
原来妈妈你只是一个名

妈妈为何你的命那么坏？
当初你最疼爱的心肝宝贝
为何将你踢来踢去 变成不要的东西

从小的时候 你疼爱他们
将他当成心肝 疼爱如命
希望孩子可以健康长大

你的一生 用性命來拖
现在是为了什么 你会躺在这儿？
没人来管你 是死是活
一世人艰苦 没有人说感谢
也没有人来看看你
原来妈妈你只是一个名

妈妈为何你的命那么坏？
当初你最疼爱的心肝宝贝
为何将你踢来踢去 变成不要的东西

美丽的大脚

丈夫因无知犯罪，被毙了，孩子因病，夭折了。面临人生的苦难，西部农村少妇张美丽悟出了一些道理，她把所有感情都寄在孩子们身上，请求村长，当上了“孩子王”。

张美丽热情达观、自然真诚、侠骨柔肠、视学生为已出，在土房子里教着一帮子“泥孩子”。她用她那浓厚的地方话教他们识字、造句；她用那跑了调的嗓子笨拙的姿势领孩子唱歌跳舞做游戏；她用她那寸寸柔肠感动和影响了都市丽人夏雨；她用她那铮铮的侠骨给孩子们赢来了资助；她用她那“并遮面”的“情感琵琶”弹奏了一曲爱情的绝唱；她用自己一双“美丽的大脚”谱写了一幕幕感人至深的“美丽的人生”！

张美丽带着一群孩子们连走连唱，跳着飞扬的黄土迎来了北京的志愿者年轻漂亮的女老师夏雨。黄土地上的生活潜移默化地改变了夏雨的人生轨迹，同时也逐步地改变了“美丽的大脚”的足迹。

夏雨不适应穷乡僻壤的艰苦生活，山村里缺水的严重程度令她惊讶，而张美丽的朴实热情常常让她哭笑不得甚至火冒三丈。看到真诚而乐观的张美丽，夏雨简直无法想象张美丽的苦难经历。

在朝夕相处的日子里，两个女人之间的误会、冲突、理解、感动通过一件件平静如水，细腻入微的小事展开，张美丽的形象也随之丰满和生动，夏雨在不知不觉中被张美丽的美丽的心灵所震撼。

当丈夫来接她回北京的时候，夏雨终于选择了黄土地，选择了朴素和真诚，因此跟丈夫闹得不欢而散。夏雨怀孕后，张美丽送夏雨回北京生孩子，可是夏雨却悄悄做掉了孩子返回了山村学校，张美丽把夏雨背在背上，边哭边骂。作为一个失去丈夫和孩子的农村妇女，能有自己的孩子是最大的幸福，张美丽无论如何想不通，夏雨怎么会不要这个孩子；夏雨趴在张美丽的背上也哭了，她无法把自己对婚姻前景的不祥预感告诉这个淳朴的女人，正是为了避免孩子将来的不幸，自己才不得不忍痛放弃。

两个生活经历完全不同的女人，此时，却用相同的泪水述说着心中相同的痛苦，表达着对孩子，对生命同样的渴望，那一刻，她们已经没有什么区别，心灵中最本质的情感完全融合在了一起，闪耀出最美丽的人性光芒。

为了给孩子们买电脑，她四处求人，好话说尽。当她求到村里的一名“大款”时，“大款”说只要她一口喝下一瓶白洒就可以资助时，张美丽毫不犹豫，一口气喝下一瓶“二锅头”，此时的张美丽绝对是一名舍生取义，大义凛然的女英雄。

志愿活动结束了，夏雨也从“黄土大学”“大脚班”毕业了，她在这里，体验了情感的秘密，理解了生活的本质，领悟了生命的真谛。出于感激，夏雨请张美丽和孩子们去北京看看。张美丽带着孩子们也带着自尊和自卑混杂心情来到了北京。面对都市的现代化和都市一些人的例慢和偏见，张美丽情绪激动，语重心长地给孩子们讲了一番改变贫穷，改变人生命运的话语。

在世俗和文化的桎梏里，作为“第三者”的张美丽和电影放映员王树之间的感情也表现得颇为辛酸和有趣。随着剧情的发展，张美丽无可奈何地决别了那段甜蜜而苦涩的爱情。

一次偶然事故，张美丽生命垂危。张美丽像平静地接受人生苦难一样接受了死亡，面对死神，她微笑地说，人，哭着来到这个世界，但是，一定要笑着离开……

孩子们用哭哑的嗓子唱着凄凉的儿歌为她送行

夏雨用满面泪水和她告别

王树雕塑般地坐在村口，默默地为她守墓……

“美丽的大脚”足声远逝了，余音无穷……

摘自：http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2002-11-19/1418113737.html

The film is set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq. Thirteen-year-old Kak (played by Soran Ebrahim) is known as “Satellite” for his installation of dishes and antennae for local villages looking for news of Saddam Hussein. He is the dynamic but also cowardly, bullying and manipulative leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields.

He then arranges trade-ins for the unexploded mines. The industrious Satellite falls for an unlikely orphan named Agrin (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl traveling with her disabled but smart brother Henkov, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance. The siblings are care-taking a three-year-old, whose connection to the pair is discovered as harsh truths are revealed.

The question is, what happened to these children? There are so many, will the occupation make their lives better or worse? How could it get worse?

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_Can_Fly

‘Turtles Can Fly’ is a terrific film that uses a fictional story to show the conditions of the Kurdish people living in a refugee camp in Iraq near the Turkish border. The film starts just before the US invasion of Iraq and ends after that invasion. One thing we see immediately is that life will not be better for these Kurdish people after the US have liberated, if that is the right word, the country of Iraq. Before the invasion life seems very hard, after it nothing seems changed.

The story is told mainly through two young teenagers. One of them is Satellite (Soran Ebrahim), who is named after his ability to give a poor village the news due a satellite dish. (And a television of course.) He is like a young business man, using his knowledge to make the best of it. Other children like him, some even worship him. He can order people to do something and they will obey. The other main character is a teenage refugee named Henkov who has lost both his arms and it is told he can see into the future. Actually his sister Agrin (Avaz Latif) is the other central figure. Together Henkov and Agrin take care of a child. Agrin wants to leave the child behind and go away with Henkov, hoping their lives will be better elsewhere. Satellite likes Agrin so he grabs every opportunity to do something for her.

An impressive thing about this film is the way it shows horrific conditions but finds a lot of humor as well. The best scene has the small child of Henkov and Agrin in the middle of a minefield and Satellite wants to take him out. It is one of the most suspenseful scenes I have seen in a long time since we can never guess the outcome. For several minutes Satellite tells the kid not to move while he is closing in. With every small move the kid made you could hear the audience react, showing they all felt the same as I. But even this scene has a lot of laughs as well. While Satellite is doing his heroic deed all other kids watch him. One of them suggests he or another kid should do it since Satellite is too important. The other kid, who already lost one leg, responds the way most people should, creating one of the funniest moments in the film.

A lot of scenes play like this. There is some real horror, especially in the scenes that explain things about Agrin who seems to have lost all hope. In between we have humor, most of the time it involves Satellite. ‘Turtles Can Fly’ is an impressive and compelling film. Sometimes it seems without focus, just giving us images to show a reality, but there is a conclusion and a message. Very well-acted mostly by young kids and teenagers, all amateurs, this film is about people in a war, not about war itself.

Source : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424227/

Awards

• Glass Bear, Best Feature Film and Peace Film Award, Berlin International Film Festival, 2005.
• Golden Seashell, Best Film, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2004.
• Special Jury Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 2004.
• International Jury and Audience Awards, São Paulo International Film Festival, 2004.
• La Pieza Award, Best Film, Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival, 2005.
• Audience Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2005.
• Golden Prometheus, Best Film, Tbilisi International Film Festival, 2005.
• Aurora Award, Tromsø International Film Festival, 2005.
• Golden Butterfly, Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children, 2004.
• Gold Dolphin, Festróia – Tróia International Film Festival, 2005

“Africa” 在拉丁語意為“陽光灼熱”，長年如夏，熱情如火，讓人感覺大地一片生機。可惜，非洲是片充滿矛盾的土地；擁有富饒的天然資源，優秀的文化和壯麗的風光，同時間卻長年肩負沉重的苦難，內亂、饑荒、貧瘠與疾病長期吞噬這塊富庶的國土，非洲，即是個伊甸園，也似人間地獄。為何上帝賦於非洲豐厚的自然財富，還要頑皮地向她開這麼大的玩笑？

里奧納多說得真切而錐心︰“……原來上帝早離棄這片土地。”因為人欲橫流，連上帝也看不下去。

非洲大陸的苦難，是天災，更是人禍。豐盛的天賦，似乎沒有得到庇佑，因為人心的貪婪，總是永無休止地侵略大自然。

《血鑽》的故事，正是活生生的例子

故事的發源地塞拉里昂位於西非，有另外一個美麗的名字，“獅子山共和國”。據說，在1462年，一名葡萄牙探險家首次踏足此地，並命名為“Sierra Leone＂，意思就是獅子山，大概當時迎接他的就是成群的雄師。“獅子山”這個名稱，給我的感覺仿佛是個誕生自神話與傳奇的地方，靈山靈水相伴，孕育善良百姓，偏偏卻像遭到無情的詛咒般，必須歷經萬劫才能換取重生的機會。

像非洲部份國家一樣，塞拉里昂盛產鑽石，但國內長年叛亂不斷，各方利用鑽石牟取暴利，包括籌集軍費，導致無數的人民慘遭殺害和流離失所，“衝突鑽石”或“血鑽石”因此得名。

電影取材自當時的內戰，借一粒價值連城的巨鑽，掀開層層震撼人心的陰冷黑幕。

片中不乏鎗戰和流血場面，卻不會令人覺得殘暴和血腥。因為，現實戰亂中的殺戮應該遠遠超乎影片所呈現的特效；現實中無辜犧牲的百萬性命也不是電影畫面可以描繪；現實中的被遺棄踐踏的無數靈魂更非電影語言可以刻劃，問題是人們的視線早已被鑽石的光芒所遮掩而失去焦點。

寫實電影如果不矯情造作，一般都沒甚麼好挑剔。據說電影開拍後引起了一些爭議，某些大牌鑽石商擔心因此誤導消費者而跳出來澄清旗下的產品“背景乾淨”。當然，我們無需為《血鑽》強加甚麼使命，短短兩個小時的電影也不可能道盡所有因緣，卻很誠懇地述說了一個也許很多人都不知道的真實故事，一些畫面也是我們可以輕易想象︰殘骸、難民、娃娃兵，哪些不是戰亂國家的“特產”？無意批判是非對錯，畢竟其中涉及許多復雜的因素，千絲萬縷，又豈是三言兩語可以盡述？

思考生命價值

這樣的故事，多少都會衝擊人們的心靈，但效應肯定不會持久。因為，不會有人義憤填膺高喊罷買鑽石，就像其他環保課題般，往往這邊廂抗議完畢，那邊廂繼續捕鯨獵貂、伐木闢林，否則各路環保組織也不會長年累月發出同樣的呼吁。我們已經習慣在震撼、憤怒、不平與激昂之後迅速恢復平靜，因為時間會洗滌一切悲傷，歲月會沉澱所有遺憾。看看周遭的人與事，往往不都是如此回歸平淡，再逐漸變得了無痕跡嗎？可是，如果影片能夠激發人們去探索那段幾乎被遺忘的過去，重新思考生命的價值，反省文明與富足背後的代價，也算對自己稍有交代。

所以，電影拍得好不好看已是其次，（但確實好看；不煽情，不夸大，沒冷場。非洲的美麗與哀愁同時刺激腦部神經，里奧納多的滄桑和憂郁，讓整部片子更顯戚然，看他手撫紅土，魂斷夕陽之下，豈能不感傷？）重要的是影片所要傳達的正面訊息。“血鑽”僅是冰山一角，儘管如今已受到嚴密的管制，可是，世界很多角落仍舊存在不平等的事件，個人的力量雖不足以改變現實，但至少讓自己更睿智地看待一切生命。

會不會有人在看《血鑽》時，下意識地撫摸身上佩戴的鑽石首飾？或者心底暗暗涌現一股罪惡感？稍安無躁，沒人說您身上的巨鑽沾滿戰亂地區難民的鮮血，不過，如果有人向來將鑽石視為自我炫耀的工具，此時此刻，應該學會謙卑和尊重，這塊美麗的石頭不是因為您而璀璨奪目，而是您一直佔了它的光彩。

（星洲日報／快樂星期天‧文：黃維雲‧2007.01.31）

Movie “Gripping, Accurate,” World Vision Expert Says

By Amy Parodi, Media Relations Manager

Adaman Kamara, 14, lost both hands to rebels during the civil war in Sierra Leone, funded in part by conflict diamonds. Photo by Brian Hatchell.

Progress has been made in stopping the illicit diamond trade; but the precious stones continue to fuel conflicts.

Edward Zwick’s new film, “Blood Diamond,” is “gripping, compelling and accurate,” according to Rory Anderson, World Vision’s senior policy advisor for Africa.

NOTE: “Blood Diamonds” has been rated “R” by the Motion Picture Association of America for “Strong Violence and Language.” Viewers under 17 require an accompanying parent or adult guardian. World Vision does not necessarily endorse or recommend this film; view with discretion.

Anderson, an expert on the illegal diamond trade, also said that though Sierra Leone’s war is over, diamonds continue to fund conflicts in Africa and that the diamond industry and governments must do more to protect the legitimate diamond trade.

A Relevant Film

“Blood Diamond” stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly. It is a fictional story about a South African smuggler, an American journalist, and a Sierra Leonean fisherman whose lives collide against the backdrop of Sierra Leone’s diamond-funded civil war in the late 1990s, a war that officially ended in 2002.

“The film’s relevance goes beyond the individual situation of Sierra Leone,” said Anderson. “It illustrates the incredible devastation the illegal diamond trade has caused — and continues to cause — elsewhere across Africa.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, approximately 1,000 people die every day as a result of an eight-year conflict that is fueled, in part, by diamond smuggling and related weapons trafficking.

Boycotting Diamonds “Isn’t the Answer”

“More than 60 percent of the diamonds on the global market are purchased in the United States,” said Anderson. “As a result, Americans can play a powerful role, demanding regulation and certification to ensure that these ‘conflict diamonds’ don’t end up in our jewelry stores.”

According to a 2004 survey conducted by Amnesty International and Global Witness, 59 percent of American diamond retailers were unwilling to even discuss their conflict diamonds policies; 11 percent admitted they had no policy at all.

Anderson maintains, though, that boycotting diamonds isn’t the answer.

Legitimate Trade Helps Many

“Legitimately traded diamonds, particularly in countries like South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, are being used to fund health care, education, and other vital services,” Anderson added. “We can’t punish countries using diamonds to help their people for the crimes committed by rebel groups and others exploiting resources elsewhere.”

Before buying diamonds, Anderson says, consumers should ask retailers for their policies on conflict diamonds and for certification that their diamonds were mined and sold legitimately.

Source : World Vision International

The Rwandan conflict of the 1990s marked one of the bloodiest chapters in recent African history. The genocide was made all the more tragic by the fact that most of the world chose to ignore the conflict and the plight of the Rwandan people. While occasional reports about “tribal warfare” in Rwanda were carried by international news agencies, the horror of the conflict, instead of causing international outrage, seemed to be written off as another “third world incident” and not worthy of attention.

Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed in Rwanda. The streets of the capital city of Kigali ran red with rivers of blood, but no one came to help. There was no international intervention in Rwanda, no expeditionary forces, no coalition of the willing. There was no international aid for Rwanda. Rwanda’s Hutu extremists slaughtered their Tutsi neighbors and any moderate Hutus who stood in their way, and the world left them to it.

“Ten years on, politicians from around the world have made the pilgrimage to Rwanda to ask for forgiveness from the survivors, and once more the same politicians promise ‘never again’,” says director Terry George. “But it’s happening yet again in Sudan, or the Congo, or some Godforsaken place where life is worth less than dirt. Places where men and women like Paul and Tatiana shame us all by their decency and bravery.”

Wars have always provided fertile ground for the emergence of heroes and supreme acts of heroism by ordinary people. Rwanda was no exception. Amidst the horrendous violence and chaos that swept the country, one of the many heroes to emerge was Paul Rusesabagina, an ordinary man who, out of love and compassion, managed to save the lives of 1268 people.

Terry George had long been interested in doing a film set in Africa, but it was Paul Rusesabagina’s story that finally brought him to the continent. “When my co-writer Keir Peirson introduced me to the story, I immediately knew I wanted to do it,” says George. “I flew to Belgium and met Paul and learned of his life: how he became a hotelier, how he rose through the ranks of employees in the various Sabena hotels he worked in, and how he ended up at the Hotel Mille Collines in Kigali.”

It was the remarkable human element of the story that struck a chord with Hotel Rwanda producer Alex Ho. “This story is very close to my heart, and it’s the kind of story I really appreciate,” he says. “It’s about a normal man who, when prompted by his wife, is able to use his position to help others. In the course of doing that, he sets out on a journey that makes him a better man.”

Source : Hotel Rwanda