In 1994 in just a few months 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered in probably the worst case of genocide since the world war. Shooting dogs tell the story of a school that unwittingly becomes a kind of makeshift refugee camp for the Tutsis fleeing the Hutu machetes. Based on real events this a harrowing account of the time when the world abandoned the people of Rwanda. The film has been criticised because apparently there was no records of a white priest as portrayed in the film staying behind when the United Nations pulled out and left thousands to be killed. But I think that is beside the point this is a story that needs to be told, people need to be aware, it needs to go down in history and we need to learn by mistakes made. Starting with the death of the president and ending in the carnage that cost so many lives the film follows teacher Joe, father Christopher and a cast of hundreds of locals. Told with graphic brutality and streets running red with blood it is a lot to stomach at times. Especially as you start to hate the UN peacekeepers for not doing anything when the killing starts. The performances from the all the cast are superb and it makes you question what, if anything? you would do in the shoes of any one of them. Although slightly more violent than Hotel Rwanda from last year this still goes no way near to what those people had to go through, should it have been more violent to hammer it home or did it go far enough? This film is one of those that needed to be made, filmed at the actual locations and with a crew containing survivors it doesn't matter if there was a white priest with them or not. What matters is the tragic story of what happened is reaching a larger audience. Its one of those films you can't say you enjoyed because of the subject matter but I was affected and moved to tears at certain points. Go and see this film and I challenge you not to be affected in some way.
Review of Shooting Dogs
