Beyond The Gates
Synopsis: Two white men working in Rwanda, one a Catholic priest and the other a school teacher, witness the horrors of the 1994 genocide and must decide if they leave the country or risk their lives by staying and helping those in need.
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Review
Beyond The Gates gives an account of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Between April and July of that year almost a million Rwandans of Tutsi ethnicity were brutally killed with machetes and clubs by the Hutu, the other main ethnic group in the country. The action is located in a school, where the United Nations had a small number of men stationed to “monitor” the peace. As soon as violence erupted the school fills with thousands of Tutsis seeking protection from the Hutu militia. Two white men in charge of this school, a priest and a teacher, welcome the refugees and hope that the United Nations officers will keep them safe. Unfortunately history took a different course, the UN turned their backs on the people of Rwanda and didn’t do much to prevent the masacre.
This film was shot on the locations where the conflict took place, and many of the members of the crew are actual survivors themselves, as explained during the end credits. The horrific acts of violence are depicted with crude detail, but unfortunately it is only near the end when the story achieves the level of intensity this subject deserves. Much of the film goes by with the conflict being in the background, secondary to the comings and goings of the priest, the teacher, the United Nations people and some of the refugees. But overall this is a decent film to watch, and is a must see for those that are not familiar with this tragic incident in the history of humanity, along with Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes In April.
©2008 by Miguel Grinberg
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