It's a pity that Michael Caton-Jones's fine film about the Rwandan massacres comes out so tardily. It's at least as good as and sometimes even better than last year's impressive but slightly hagiographic Hotel Rwanda, or Raoul Peck's Sometimes in April.
The central character is Father Christopher (John Hurt), shepherd of a flock of Tutsis in Kigali threatened by Hutu murderers. The gangs are waiting outside his church's compound to massacre those inside as soon as the UN detachment leaves.
Alongside the Catholic priest is Joe (Hugh Dancy) a naive aid worker who describes himself as "starring in his own Oxfam ad". For reassurance, a corrupt politician visits the site and assures everyone that nothing untoward will happen. You want to believe him but know he's lying.
As events progress to prove worse than anyone could have imagined, the priest, though a good man, willing to sacrifice himself for others, seems as anxious to continue with giving communion as to formulate an exit strategy. The commander of the UN troops who has orders not to interfere seems equally powerless or even able to give adequate advice.
Caton-Jones does not spare us the horrific details of what follows and the tension ratchets up formidably as the UN soldiers pack and leave, offering the whites a passage out, which the priest refuses.
Shooting Dogs is in many ways a fine piece of work, well shot and directed with some honesty. There is no way that Caton-Jones could have avoided showing the blood and the horror missing from Hotel Rwanda, which is absolutely necessary here.
If the film is weakened by being more about the white characters than the black, and about our guilt rather than the fate of the Tutsis, there is no denying the awful truth of what it says, the strong performance from Hurt and the commendable way in which Caton-Jones marshals his cinematic forces.
Shooting Dogs
Cert: 15
