Sometimes in April (2005)

Directed by

Raoul Peck

Genre

drama film

Country

Rwanda, France, United States

Runtime

2h 20m

Rated

16

Rating

7.1 of 10 from 87 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A moderate Hutu military captain struggles to survive the 1994 Rwandan Genocide while his Hutu brother takes part in the violence. The story jumps between the genocide and 2004, when the captain visits his brother in prison. It shows the lead-up to the killing, the struggle to survive, and the aftermath of seeking justice.

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What happens

Sometimes in April is a 2005 American made-for-television historical drama film about the Rwandan Genocide, written and directed by the Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. The ensemble cast includes Idris Elba, Oris Erhuero, Carole Karemera, and Debra Winger. The story centers around Augustin Muganza, a moderate Hutu military captain who struggles to find closure after bearing witness to the killing of nearly 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days, while becoming divided by politics and losing some of his own family. The film intersperses between the genocide in 1994, and April 2004, when Augustin is invited by his brother, Honoré Butera, to visit him as he stands trial for his involvement in the genocide. In addition to Augustin's tribulations, the film depicts the attitudes and circumstances leading up to the outbreak of brutal violence, the intertwining stories of people struggling to survive genocide, and the aftermath as the survivors try to find justice and reconciliation. The story is also intercut with scenes of Prudence Bushnell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs for American President Bill Clinton, and her failed attempts to stop the genocide and advise the American government and public to acknowledge the unfolding genocide. The film was nominated for multiple awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special to the composer of the film, Bruno Coulais. It is one of the first large-scale films about the genocide to be filmed in Rwanda. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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