David Belton
Two outsiders witness an onslaught of bloody Rwandan genocide in this fact-based drama from director Michael Caton-Jones (Scandal). In 1994, Joe Connor (Hugh Dancy) is a British schoolteacher who has volunteered to spend a year at the Ecole Technique Officielle, a school in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Connor's arrival in Rwanda occurs after the nation's Civil War between the Tutsis and the Hutus has dissipated (c. August 1993). Yet despite the official end of this well-publicized struggle, political negotiations between the two groups have reached a stalemate, and the Hutus begin systematic preparation for a mass-genocide of the Tutsi people (who have assumed political power via the establishment of the RPF). Connor has already seen signs of the coming conflict in the abuse meted out to Marie (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a Tutsi student who was one of his star pupils, as well as the bitter hatred expressed by Francois (David Gyasi), a Hutu janitor at the school. As the genocide erupts, with extreme Hutu factions slaughtering Tutsis by the thousands, the Ecole Technique becomes a base of operations for Belgian peacekeeping forces from the United Nations. Most extended visitors from the West (especially America and Europe) flee Rwanda as the fighting broke out, but Connor decides to stay, and in fact strikes up a friendship with Father Christopher (John Hurt), a Catholic priest who has come to the nation as a missionary. As Father Christopher serves mass and strives to offer solace to the Tutsis and moderate Hutus caught in the fighting, he and Connor use the school as a safe haven for Tutsi refugees; however, after five days of genocidal killing, the U.N. troops move out, leaving little hope for the people they were supposed to protect. Beyond the Gates was produced by David Belton, who helped write the film's story; Belton was a correspondent with the BBC who was assigned to Rwanda when the fighting broke out. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, (more)
- 2003
Created in 1996, the Arabic-language satellite news channel Al-Jazeera was, in its first few years of existence, held up as a model of the marriage between Middle Eastern culture and Western technology. But during the Iraq war of 2003, Al-Jazeera found itself under fire by many observers, characterized as a propaganda tool of the pro-Hussein, anti-American forces. Conversely, there were those who praised the channel as the only bastion of the pure, unvarnished truth in a world of unfair and unbalanced news coverage. This PBS documentary permits the viewer to make up his or her own mind by offering an up-close-and-personal view of the Al Jazeera control room at the height of the Iraq conflict. Wide Angle: Exclusive to Al-Jazeera was originally telecast as the second season opener of the PBS anthology Wide Angle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
A scientist discovers a innovative method for forecasting volcano eruptions in this installment of PBS' Nova. Bernard Chouet has been studying the inner workings of Popocatepetl, which looms over densely populated Mexico City, and he believes he's found a combination of seismic events that spell certain eruption for it and other volcanoes around the world. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
