Movie Review

Beyond the Gates (2007)

EW's GRADE
B+

Details Limited Release: Mar 09, 2007; Rated: R; Length: 111 Minutes; Genre: Drama; With: Hugh Dancy and John Hurt

 HEAVENLY \'GATES\' Hurt (pictured with Dancy) gives a strong performance as a priest giving sanctuary to threatened Tutsi in this...
HEAVENLY 'GATES' Hurt (pictured with Dancy) gives a strong performance as a priest giving sanctuary to threatened Tutsi in this story of the Rwandan genocide

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 that left nearly a million Tutsi slaughtered surely deserves another good telling even after Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April. And Beyond the Gates, with its lack of sentimentality, its tough criticism of U.N. inaction, and its cast and crew filled out with real survivors, does nicely. John Hurt is magnetic as a Catholic priest running a school where terrified Tutsi have taken refuge, while Hugh Dancy, as a naive teacher, represents white commitment to black Africa at its most impotent and unreliable. Stay for the credits; the coda is powerful.

Originally posted Mar 07, 2007 Published in issue #925 Mar 16, 2007 Order article reprints
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