Beyond the Gates (2007)
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84% of critics liked it
(62 reviews) -
81% of users liked it
(17,382 ratings)
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 École Technique Officielle, a school in the Rwandan capital of… More 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 École 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 (Claire-Hope Ashitey), a Tutsi student who was one of his star pupils, as well as the bitter hatred expressed by François (David Gyasi), a Hutu janitor at the school. As the genocide erupts, with extreme Hutu factions slaughtering Tutsis by the thousands, the École 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 breaks 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Caton-Jones
- Written By
- David Wolstencroft
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Dec 8, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- IFC First Take
Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
This is a spiritual drama, not a political one, drawing a thick line between our good intentions and the selfish choices we ultimately make.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
Though less reassuring and not as dramatically coherent as Hotel Rwanda, it still packs a hard punch.
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Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Movies about Africa often fall into this trap. Righteous indignation is the exclusive province of non-Africans.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
There's little respite from the terrible history that this film retells just a determination (made stronger by the faces we see after the credits) to tell it, to be sure that history doesn't forget.
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Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
A gripping fictionalized account of a 1994 incident in Rwanda that became a shocking emblem of the Rwandan Hutus' mass slaughter of the Tutsis.
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Cast
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John Hurt
as Father Christopher
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Hugh Dancy
as Joe Connor
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Claire-Hope Ashitey
as Marie
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Dominique Horwitz
as Captain Delon
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Louis Mahoney
as Sibomana
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Nicola Walker
as Rachel
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Steve Toussaint
as Roland
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David Gyasi
as Francois
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Susan Nalwoga
as Edda
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Victor Power
as Julius
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Jack Pierce
as Mark
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Musa Kasonka Jr.
as Bonfiace
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Kizito Ssentamu Kayiira
as Pierre
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Denis Nsanzamahoro
as Road Block Militia
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Francine Naomi Umutoni
as Rosa
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Alexander Ikuzo
as Claude
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Charles Kayondo
as Felicien
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Abdul Sebagangali
as Rwandan Soldier
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Molly Rutagarama
as Isabelle
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Arthur Nkusi
as Aaron
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Eugene Rugwiza
as Baptiste
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Raymond Kalisa
as Rwandan Soldier
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Rose-Mary Uwimana
as Frightened Woman
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Venuste Karasira
as Economist
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Jean De La Croix
as Road Block Militia
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Ndabananiye Samuel Kyaganbidwa
as Road Block Militia
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Joseph Saad
as Road Block Militia
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Jean Kennedy Mazimpaka
as Road Block Victim
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Jean Paul Nkundabanyanga
as Interahamwe Intruder
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Alain Nizet
as French Commander


