Watch Shooting Dogs For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

"Shooting Dogs" is a movie based on the true story of two dedicated mens and their will to help several Rwandans during the conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes in 1994. Michael Caton-Jones director of "Rob Roy" tells the story of Christopher, a priest (John Hurt) and Joe, a English teacher (Hugh Dancy) and their commitment to the Rwandans refugees surrounded by a dangerous group in a school. Their mission is to do their best that they can to save everyone's life.For those who doesn't know the conflicts between these tribes here's a short summary. In 1994 the power was controlled by the Hutu tribe. In the same year a peace process was in development and the UN was sent to Rwanda to assure that peace would be assured. But the president of Rwanda died in a plane crash and the Hutu started a military coup persecuting all the Tutsi. A genocide happened in only a few months and UN forces couldn't do anything because their orders was to evacuate all the foreigners living in the country and only shoot if they were attached. Thousands of Tutsi were killed during this dark period.In the movie the main characters are trapped in a school along with a Captain (Dominique Horwitz) and the UN soldiers, and thousands of refugees, including many Joe's students such as Marie (Clare-Hope Ashitey). UN Forces can only impeach the Hutu entrance in the school, and that disturbs the priest and Joe because outside of the school and the church walls there are many killings happening in front of them and no one can't do a single thing to stop it. In one of the most emblematic scenes of the movie after returning of a dangerous trip to get some medicine for a sick baby, the priest is warned by the Captain that the dogs must be killed because they were eating the decomposing bodies of the victims. The father replies to the Captain: The dogs were shooting at you? No, so you can't shoot the dogs because you have to follow with your mission and your mission is only shoot if the other side shoot you. That's why the title "Shooting Dogs".It's a very strong and powerful movie, sometimes sentimental, but quite controversial. I watched because I wanted to see a different point of view on the same subject of movies like "Sometimes in April", "Hotel Rwanda" and the documentary "Shake Hands with the devil: the Journey of Romeo Dallaire" all of them are accounts of the genocide in Rwanda. All great movies, very similar to each other. The main difference here is that we seen the point of view of white characters. An English teacher, an English priest, an french captain and a BBC reporter are some of the persons involved in the tragic events. We seen their different reactions to all the deaths, the desperate ways to help people or to criticize and compare kinds of genocide like the BBC reporter, played by Nicola Walker, tells to Joe. Depending on your social and personal views you might hate her character when she says to Joe that the killing of people in Bosnia was more serious and shocking than the killing of "just Africans". This scene emphasize many hypocritical behavior of well established countries. Sad but truth.The director made a wonderful job here, leaving a soft movie in the beginning with some light and funny moments, and then like a dramatic symphony he was adding more dark moments, creating tension in every time that Joe or the priest went on searching a person they know or the medicine for the baby. John Hurt has another good moment in his career with this movie, playing the helpful, warm, man of faith whose help is needed in every possible situation, a courageous man. Hugh Dancy once again proved to be a great actor. He's in comedies such as "Ella Enchanted" and in dramas like "Shooting Dogs". Even when the movie is bad such as "Evening" is great to see that someone is doing a nice job. Here, playing the young and idealist teacher who fears that his life's in danger but he's still wants to help everybody because it's the right to do and since he was a fortunate child who had everything he wanted he wants to share his joy and experience to the less fortunate Rwandans. It's an outstanding movie that didn't had the attention that it needed by time of its release in cinemas. But TV and DVD will help to spread its message. 10/10

This movie is told through the eyes of a young teacher at a catholic school, watching as the RAWANDAN genocide un-furls around him.The movie starts off with a brief explanation about the past history and rivalry of Rawanda. Then it jumps to the story as told through the eyes of a young idealistic "NEW-COMER" a young teacher who doesn't take life or the situation too seriously. As he and the driver approach a road-block he plays around with his drivers I.D. not realizing that this is a serious moment and that if the driver can't identify himself as being of the right tribe to the soldiers they'll be killed. And thats how he treats the unfolding story of chaos and unfolding around him. Suddenly realizes that every Rawandan (including his driver) is involved and that the Europeans soldiers and tourists cannot and will not help. The media cameras cannot stop machete's, and there's too many machete wielding militia-men too shoot. the title comes from the armies captain saying he's going to shoot the dogs eating the dead-bodies around his compound, but won't shoot the Militia-men that are killing people around the compound. Mainly because they haven't fired at the soldiers yet. Finally he realizes the hopelessness of the situation and the guy who tells the evacuation team that he wants to give up his seat for one of the intended victims, flees with his tail in-between his legs, rather than face immanent death with the school kids he's promised not to leave behind.It's more of character study, and a come to Jesus moment for one character, than a story about the genocide in "RAWANDA". This movie didn't have to take place in RAWANDA, it could have taken place any one of the Genocidal hell holes going around this world at any given time.

In recent years us film fans got two films on the Rwandan genocide, Hotel Rwanda and Shooting Dogs. Hotel Rwanda focused on Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu who saved Tutsis and became known as the African Schlinder. Shooting Dogs focuses on a similar theme, where a Catholic Priest Christoper (John Hurt) and teacher Joe (Hugh Dancy), try to protect Tutsi people in their school behind a shield of Beligan UN troops.The film starts with a quick history of the situation where UN troops were sent to monitor a fragile peace in Rwanda and see the Beligan troops based at Christoper's school Ecole Technique Officielle. Christopher had been in Rwanda for thirty years, whilst Joe is new to the country, but starting to get to know and like the people. In Rwanda the situation is tense and they are signs of tension, such as roadblocks which soldiers stop and beat up Tutsis, and Hutu militia attacking Tutsi peace protesters. They was also propaganda against Tutsis on the radio and tones of racism, where Hutus call Tutsis cockroaches. These tensions explosive when the President of Rwanda is killed in a plane crash, it's unknown if it was an assassination or a accident. Hutu extremest uses this as a change to overthrow the government and start their racial policy of wiping out the Tutsi. Christoper and Joe are thrown into the middle of this and they allow Tutsis into the school and make it into a refugee camp. Out in the streets the capital becomes a ghost-town and the Hutu militia rule, killing as many Tutsis as possible. Christoper, Joe and BBC reporter Rachel (Nicola Walker) all see this when trying to get supply and footage. The school leadership plead with the Beligan Captain (Dominique Horwitz) to try and take a more proactive role in stopping the killings. The captain is sympathetic but he has few men and the UN mandates was so strict that it prevented the troops from doing anything except in self-defence. The film shows the UN were useless in the situation. As the genocide continued no where seem to be safe, with schools and churches being attacked and the killing was indiscriminate, including the killing of babies. Because of this the west decide to take as many of their people out as possible and leave the Rwandans to their fate.This is a powerful film, showing how savage the conflict and the genocide was. It was brutal and unlike Hotel Rwanda, you see the violence in this film. It shows broken friendships, conflict with the school and man-kind at its best and worst. At times it a touch watch and it needed a strong filmmaker and a non-Hollywood style. This is Michael Caton-Jones' best film, and these are the types of films he should make. The acting is really strong by all the performers, especially John Hurt as a priest. As well, unlike Hotel Rwanda which was filmed in South Africa, Shooting Dogs was shot on location and a lot of survivors were used during the filming, from extras to Assistant directors to background staff. It adds a favour to the film. The characters were made to see as human as possible, not one dimensional beings. All characters had a charge to shine. The filmmakers took great care trying to show the personal accepts whilst looking at the wider picture. The is a strong script behind the film, written by David Wolstencroft, creator of Spooks and main writer during the first 3 seasons (when the show was at it best), and a very promising British talent, and Richard Alwyn, a BBC producer who was in Rwanda at the time of the genocide and knows the story what happened at the school from first hand experience. As well the film was critical of the UN and the west for not doing anything in Rwanda.Shooting Dogs has been criticised for trying to tell the story of the genocide from a white man's presceptive. I can understand the criticisms but sadly I think its hard to market a film like this without western money and support, nor been seen without western faces. Some of that is true to Hotel Rwanda as well. However, I think that they could have a more prominent role for a Rwandan character. The only major Rwandan character was a girl called Marie (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a pupil at the story. However even her character wasn't that major and she could have had a little more to do. I also feel that the final scene could have been done differently.All in all a very strong film and is worth watching.

Can't believe this is the same director who made one of my favorites of all time, "Doc Hollywood"! What a range. But, here again, wonderful creation of sense of place. If you think "Hotel Rwanda" did it all, think again. In many ways this film is more horrifying with its focus on a single technical college where many Tutsis took refuge despite the impotence of UN soldiers based there. I also admired the inclusion of details that showed the Rwandans not simply as passive victims, but organizing themselves within the compound to promote their own welfare and resisting where possible.The film ably depicted the "thuggery" of the Hutu militias. Scholars of ethnic conflict have noted how thugs use the cover of ethnicity to exploit unsettled situations. The solution? Prompt "policing", a strong show of force, as could have been provided by the UN.