Such a frustrating disappointment

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Where do I start.It has been a very very long time since I have seen a decent film. The last film I felt so touched and moved by I had seen was the pianist and the (harvey) milk film from 2008.Those 2 fantastic movies aside, this film absolutely wiped the floor with its emotional attachment. Being of African descent myself, rocked me with even more tears and sympathy watching this film.The film is set in the genuine places all the genoicides and massacres hasppenned. Many of the actors in the movie were there at the time of the genocide in 1994. Afterall this is based on a true events.Watching this film truly immersed you deeply into the conflict of 1994. You truly feel like you were there and unfortunately powerless in being able to change what has already been so dramatically written into history.I felt so guilty that I, like many thousands if not millions of people living in the West had very little idea of what had happened in Rwanda. Granted I was only 11 years of age at the time; such a potent event in history deserves to be remembered by the world as a whole and never forgotten, especially by those who played little but an obvious participation in the events that occurred.The acting/cast and soundtracks are all faultless in taste and selection. I have not only never been so moved but never cried so much in one movie.It is only when you watch a movie like this you realise how so for granted you take your life and opportunities bestowed upon us here in the UK.The producers/actors/directors should be applauded for making what will be remembered at least in my heart as one of the best films in movie history. Such a pity that it will never get the worldwide acclaim even if silently, it truly deserves. Perhaps this is a reflection of the world we still live in. I honestly believe with time this will become a timeless classic and grow notorious as more people find this treasure in their local movie store.Buy it, rent it...just make sure you watch it.

"Beyond the Gates" (aka "Shooting Dogs") is a shattering true-life drama set during the Rwandan genocide of 1994 - a holocaust in which over 800,000 unarmed Tutsis were brutally massacred by their gun- and machete-toting Hutu neighbors simply for being "different." This harrowing and heartbreaking film focuses on a Catholic priest and a young American teacher who find themselves caught up in a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions when a large group of terrified Tutsis flee to the school for safety and protection (a comforting but, as it turns out, utterly impotent U.N. "peacekeeping force" has also set up shop there).Comparisons to the earlier, better-known "Hotel Rwanda" are as an inevitable as they are irrelevant, for "Beyond the Gates" is a searing and unforgettable movie in its own right, filled with indelible imagery and pulse-pounding suspense. The brilliant screenplay by David Wolstencroft (based on the book by Richard Alwyn and David Belton) focuses as much on the moral dilemma taking place within the souls of the two white men as it does on the unspeakable tragedy occurring in the world outside. Both men, utterly powerless in the face of such a monumental event, are forced to question whether the religious dogma that they espouse so readily in times of peace has any real efficacy or relevance in times when the very fabric of humanity seems to be coming apart at the seams. Director Michael Caton-Jones has provided scene after scene in which characters - both major and minor - are forced to re-examine their commitment to themselves, the people around them and the belief systems they've adopted to get themselves through life. The movie also points out just how shamefully the outside world acted in turning a blind eye to what was happening in that country, refusing to step in at any point to try and bring the situation under control, and then proffering lame excuses to justify its inaction once it was all over.With many actual survivors of the holocaust working both behind the camera as technical assistants and in front of it as extras and minor characters, the film brilliantly recreates the events with devastating immediacy and accuracy (the movie was also filmed at the actual locations where the incidents themselves took place, greatly enhancing its verisimilitude). Moreover, John Hurt as the priest and Hugh Dancy as the teacher deliver soul-searing, gut-wrenching performances that get to the heart of what it truly means to be one's brother's keeper.Acts of such unmitigated savagery and brutality, especially when conducted on this massive a scale, are so incomprehensible in their horror that it would be virtually impossible for any single work of art to successfully grasp them. But by personalizing the issues and placing the events within the context of a series of universally identifiable moral dilemmas, the makers of this extraordinarily fine film have perhaps come as close as is humanly possible to achieving that end. Don't miss it.

The film brings home the self created impotence of the international community. Dogs are shot by soldiers to prevent them eating the bodies of people they have to stand by and watch being slaughtered. The true facts (although the characters are fictional) of the situation are as awful as they are bizarre. Portraying this on screen along with the humanity in the face of death was done superbly and in a very direct human way.The illustration of how situations such as this gather and how people, once considered friends, can be so corrupted is achieved with a deft hand.

To acknowledge the fact that genocides are still active in our supposedly enlightened times is terrifying, yet through films such as BEYOND THE GATES, HOTEL RWANDA, and SOMETIMES IN APRIL we are gradually bring informed about one particular genocide - that occurred in 1994 in Rwanda - and hopefully will make us as a global population more proactive in stemming the possibility of further acts of brutality and disregard of humanity. Writer David Wolstencroft and director Michael Caton-Jones have created one of the most powerfully poignant films about the genocide of the Tsutsi people by the Hutu people and by placing the film exactly where the genocide happened have added an intensely compelling atmosphere to an act that never should have happened.In 1994, at the Ecole Technique Officielle, a school for the Rwandan children run by Europeans under the tutelage of Father Christopher (John Hurt) and with idealistic teachers such as the young Joe (Hugh Dancy), the incipient intertribal rioting between the Hutus and Tsutsis is 'monitored by the impotent United Nations led by Capitaine Delon (Dominique Horwitz). After the current leader of Rwanda is shot down in a helicopter tragedy, the Hutus begin killing the Tsutsi, butchering them with machetes and leaving the bodies to rot in the streets. The Tsutsis flock to the Ecole, looking for asylum and protection, and Father Christopher and Joe do everything in their power to provide food and shelter and safety. One particularly gifted student Marie (Claire-Hope Ashitey) works closely with the two men, gaining their admiration and love, and representing the desperate need of the Tsutsis. The UN forces refuse to fire on the invading Hutus and finally evacuate all white Europeans to be flow to safety out of Africa. It is this final abandonment of the Tsutsis that underlies the ensuing slaughter of those who sought help within the Ecole walls. And with showing the decimated Tsutsis the film ends with a few follow-up scenes that are deeply touching and immensely disturbing. It is clear that the film reveals how the world ignored the tragic genocide of 1994 and a more poignant statement has rarely been captured in writing, filming, direction, and acting.John Hurt and Hugh Dancy are brilliant in their roles, but it is the performance of young Claire-Hope Ashitey that rivets our attention: she is a wonder of an actress and deserves awards for her intensely realistic performance. The film's story is already known (hopefully) so there can be no spoilers here. And therein lies the agonizing reality that the world stood by and let this happen. Every world citizen should be required to see this powerful film in hopes that such atrocities will be prevented in the future. But then there is now Darfur..... Grady Harp