Goofs for
Hotel Rwanda (2004) More at IMDbPro »

• Crew or equipment visible: Camera crew visible in the bus window at the beginning of the movie.
  
  
• Factual errors: The other hotel where Paul Rusesabagina keeps a safe, has a sign calling it "Hotel Diplomat". As Rwanda was fully francophone in 1994, the real hotel was called and spelled "Hotel des Diplomates".
  
  
• Factual errors: Final credits call the militias "Interhamwe". Their real name and spelling is "Interahamwe".
  
  

• Anachronisms: When Paul is brought to the Hotel Diplomat (about 25-minutes into the film) to take the keys out of the safe, he also takes a stack of $100 USD bills. The bills that are shown are that of the new design, which were not in circulation until 1996.
  
  
• Anachronisms: During the opening scene in the film, a sign for MTN Mobile can be seen. MTN is a South African communications company and although it is the main mobile provider in Rwanda now, it was not in 1994.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When Paul goes to the Hotel Diplomat to get the scotch for the Rwandan general the bottles of Glenfiddich are rounded off. The rounded off style of bottles are a newer design, the ones in 1994 would have come to a point.
  
  
• Factual errors: English was not at that time an official language in Rwanda, but the signs at the hotel are in English first with French below. Also, advertisements and shop names in English can be seen.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Colonel Oliver's character refers to his subordinate Lieutenants as "Lew-tenant" pronounced the American way. As a Canadian, he would have pronounced it as "Lef-tenant".
  
  
• Errors in geography: In the film, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is called "Congo," when the name should have been "Zaire" as that was the country's name until 1997.
  
  
• Continuity: When Paul sends his wife and children away in the UN convoy, Tatiana is wearing an orange floral skirt prior to getting in the truck and before the truck pulls away, but after the truck pulls away as she is calming the children her skirt is gray.
  
  
• Continuity: In the last chapter, When Tatiana is looking for the pictures of her lost little nieces, we first see the pictures with two question marks under it. Five seconds later, the picture is blank.
  
  
• Continuity: When Paul is first seen getting supplies for his hotel, at one point we see him with his arm brought up to his head, but when the camera angle switches, his arm is down. And then the angle switches again, and his arm is up again.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the speech of Colonel Oliver about the beginning of the negotiations, a photographer is seen in the front row shooting the speaker with a reflex lens. This kind of lens can not focus down to less than 3 meters as seen in the film and would be useless anyway because of an excessive magnification.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The shoulder rank insignia of the Canadian Army Colonel in charge of the UN contingent is incorrect: The rank badge should include the word "CANADA" at the outside edge of the epaulet. He is also shown wearing shoulder board insignia which is more typical of a naval officer instead of a senior officer in the Canadian Army. He should have shoulder-mark insignia that slips over the shoulder straps.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Colonel Oliver says many words which have a distinctive Canadian pronunciation - words which this "Canadian" character speaks with an American accent.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the scene where it is raining, it can be seen the sun is shining in the distance in a couple of shots looking away from the hotel. The reflection off Dube's wet coat also looks like sunshine.
  
  

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