Hotel Rwanda Page #15

Paul takes his anger out on Tatiana.

PAUL:

Do what I say, woman. You hear me? I will

meet you there.

He storms out.

CUT TO:

INT. HOTEL LOBBY. DAY

REVEAL:
A chaos of luggage, white tourists, AID agency people, Italian

and French soldiers, elite, slick.

On the edges, clumps of Rwandans, watching, silent, fearful.

EXT. HOTEL FORECOURT. DAY

A torrential African rain storm soaks everything. Porters with big

umbrellas run the white evacuees to the buses.

French and Italian commanders check off names on clipboards.

Jock films the evacuees boarding buses.

INT. HOTEL LOBBY. DAY

At the front desk, Paul, dripping wet from working the convoy, listens

to a French tourist who refuses to pay his bill.

FRENCH TOURIST:

Why should I pay to stay in a, in a

holocaust? Tell me.

Paul, stone-faced, polite, destroys this a**hole.

PAUL:

You are not staying sir, you are leaving.

EXT. HOTEL FORECOURT. DAY

Paul watches in the rain as the final agency people are being loaded

onto buses.

Several white aid workers weep uncontrollably as they are dragged away

from frightened Rwandan coworkers.

Paul in the rain.

Across the parking lot Colonel Oliver watches from his jeep.

Jock and his sound man embrace two beautiful young HOOKERS.

One girl begs Jock to take her with him.

HOOKER:

Please, please, they will put me on the

street. They will chop me.

JOCK:

Darlin', believe me, if I could...

He digs in his pockets, pulls out money, cigarettes. Everything he has

he gives to her.

Then he pulls her toward Paul, digs out his wallet.

JOCK (CONT'D)

Here. Here.

He pushes two Visa cards into Paul's hands.

JOCK (CONT'D)

Give her what she wants, room, food,

anything. Charge it all. Don't you put

her out, Paul.

PAUL:

I would never do that.

JOCK:

I know that, Paul. I'm sorry.

Here take this.

Jock pulls a Rolex off his wrist.

PAUL:

This is a Rolex, I can't take it.

JOCK:

Take it for Christ sake. I wish it was a

f***ing aeroplane.

Jock embraces Paul, tears in his eyes.

Gloria watches from the doorway. Embarrassed by Jock, She becomes

officious.

GLORIA:

Let’s go, Jock.

JOCK:

(turns on her)

Go! What the f*** sort of journalists are

we, running from a war? I'm ashamed. Are

you? Well, are ya'?

GLORIA:

You’re drunk.

Gloria marches onto the bus.

GLORIA:

(to a French soldier)

What are we waiting for?

FRENCH SOLDIER:

We have to evacuate some nuns from a

convent. They are on their way.

Jock kisses the hooker, heaves his camera onto the bus.

Then there is a disturbance on the driveway.

A group of French nuns, along with maybe a hundred Tutsi women and

children come running up the driveway. They are all terrified. One nun

leads them with a French flag.

French soldiers run forward. A commander orders them to form a line,

blocking the refugees.

French soldiers begin pulling nuns from the terrified crowd.

Several nuns begin hysterically weeping, pulling Rwandan children with

them. Panic breaks out among the crowd.

INT/EXT. BUS. DAY

Jock grabs his camera, pushes off the bus.

EXT. HOTEL FORECOURT. DAY

Nuns cling to young children. French soldiers wrench the nuns away,

lift them off their feet, carry them to the bus.

JOCK films, as A FRENCH OFFICER screams at him.

The last nun is dragged onto a bus.

Jock looks to Paul, then gets on the bus.

The convoy - French jeeps, buses, Italian jeeps, UN jeeps takes off,

through the refugees, turns a corner, gone.

Paul, drenched, is left alone to fend for his new guests:

Weeping women, frightened children.

EXT. HOTEL FRONT GATE. DAY

The convoy passes the gate house.

Across the road, two jeeps of Rwandan Army soldiers watch the convoy

leave. They get on the radio.

INT. HOTEL LOBBY. DAY

Where five minutes before the lobby was a frenzy of wealthy Europeans

and aid workers, the groups of clustered black faces are silent except

for the crying of babies and sobbing mothers. Paul picks his way among

them. Zozo catches up.

ZOZO:

What do we do with all these people?

PAUL:

Open up the ballroom, we'll put them

there. And Zozo tell the kitchen to make

rice and beans - a lot of it.

INT. HOTEL PAUL'S ROOM. DAY.

Paul enters, drops to the bed. Tatiana curls up next to him.

TATIANA:

You could leave, Paul.

PAUL:

What are you saying, Tatsi?

TATIANA:

Your card says Hutu. Take our children,

go and get the twins, pay money at the

roadblocks. Get them out. Please.

PAUL:

Enough of this. We stay together. Let me

rest, I will feel better then.

Paul puts on his walkman earphones, presses play, the rich cowboy drawl

of Don Williams singing.

Close on:
Paul as his eyes droop and to the music.

A kalidiscope of colors filter through drooping eyelids as

Close on Paul’s face, as the music plays.

His eyes open wide, disturbed, music playing

Paul’s POV, an Army lieutenant stands over him, other soldiers around.

The lieutenant reaches down, pulls the earphones from Paul’s ears.

LIEUTENANT:

You are the manager?

PAUL:

Yes, sir. What is wrong?

LIEUTENANT:

Everyone must leave the hotel now.

PAUL:

Why sir?

LIEUTENANT:

It's an order. Get everyone out now.

PAUL:

I...ah...need some time. Please give us

twenty, thirty minutes. People are

sleeping.

The lieutenant is not impressed.

PAUL (CONT'D)

Please, have some cold drinks. I will be

as quick as I can.

'Cold drinks' softens the soldiers' attitudes.

LIEUTENANT:

We will be outside, ten minutes.

The soldiers march off. Paul goes back inside. The kids, sensing the

menace, sit still and wide-eyed on the floor. Suddenly Tatiana notices

Roger is missing.

TATIANA:

Where's Roger?

Danielle points to under the bed.

CLOSE ON:

Roger trembling under the bed, as Paul's face appears.

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