Kinyarwanda is comprised of a series of short interconnected stories that weave through each other to tell a larger story of people living through, and after, the Rwandan genocide. Choosing to focus on the people and their relationships rather than telling a flat history of the genocide, Kinyarwanda is based on true events. The segments move forward and backwards between people and times, breaking up the linearity of narrative and so slowly what builds is a sense of an overall story as the interrelated nature of all the story elements becomes clearer.
One of Kinyarwanda’s first lines of dialogue is “the funny thing about genocide is…”, the irony of course being that there is nothing funny about genocide. This moving has a powerful subject and is frequently quite distressing, but by focussing on the people in this situation rather than directly on politics or ideologies it manages to be a moving portrayal of a horrific event. For those unaware the Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994 when between an estimated 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi people were killed by the ruling Hutu Rwandan regime in a period spanning approximately 100 days. The movie largely takes place during that time, but with some sequences taking place afterwards in ‘Re-eduKation Camp’ where those who took part in the killings must come to terms with what they’ve done.
There’s a tale of forbidden love between Hutu and Tutsi, Muslims and Christians putting aside religious or ethnic concerns to stand up for all people’s rights, stories of families and children, and also soldiers fighting to free people from oppression. All undeniably powerful subjects. As a movie though it’s somewhat hard going (and not just because of the difficult subject), it has a very somber pace and the cast is mixed between professionals and first-time actors leading to an overall uneven calibre of acting. That being said, if you stick with it the stories of these people begin to combine into something that’s very compelling in it’s intensity.
Some of the vignettes prevail more so, whilst others contribute only a little to the overall picture. The story between the Muslim Imam and the Catholic Priest stands out as being the most prescient and moving, whilst the stories told by the Hutus in the re-education camp are the most haunting and disturbing of the narrative mosaic. It’s thought provoking and illuminating to anyone who knows little on the subject of the genocides, perhaps even to those that do. Kinyarwanda builds to be hugely moving but at times is very dry and hard going, it’s relevance falls somewhere between the truth of the stories and it’s focus on the humanity of a subject not often discussed.
Kinyarwanda is available May through Breaking Glass Pictures.
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