Fails the Bechdel test

Hotel Rwanda

Name: Hotel Rwanda
Released: 2005

2005. Directed by Terry George, written by Keir Pearson and Terry George.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
8 women characters. 3 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

1994. In Rwanda, the classification of the native population into Hutus and Tutsis, arbitrarily done by the colonial Belgians, is now ingrained within Rwandan mentality despite the Rwandan independence. Despite the Belgians having placed the Tutsis in a higher position during the Belgian rule, they have placed the majority Hutus in power after independence. Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, Tatiana Rusesabagina, is the House Manager of the Hotel Des Milles Collines in Kigali. The Milles Collines, owned by Sabena (the national airline of Belgium), is a four-star hotel catering primarily to wealthy white westerners. Paul, who knows how to work the system to run the hotel effectively for its guests and for Sabena, is proud that most of the Caucasians who he meets in this professional capacity treat him with respect. After a specific incident, the relative calm between the Tutsi guerrillas and government-backed Hutu militia takes a turn. Paul's thought that the native population as a whole who are not directly involved in the conflict will be protected as the UN peacekeeping forces and thus the world is watching doesn't happen as the western world largely evacuates from Rwanda and abandons the natives. Such begins what will become a genocide of the Tutsi population. Paul, who is able to get his immediate family to the hotel which is still largely seen as a place of sanctuary, will have to use the considerable skills he has used to run the hotel as well as he has instead to keep himself, his family and any others taking refuge at the hotel alive, whether they be Hutu or Tutsi. Meanwhile, Colonel Oliver, a Canadian heading the UN peacekeeping forces, and Pat Archer with the Red Cross do what they can to assist Paul and to get people to safety first to the hotel then out of the country, while field journalists, like photographer Jack Daglish, try to bring the genocide back into the global media to have the world once again care about what is going on.

Released: 04 Feb 2005
Genres: Biography, Drama, History
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 8.1 / 10
Metascore: 79 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. 16 wins & 49 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Paul 455 lines, man
Tatiana 96 lines, woman
General Bizimungu 52 lines, man
Colonel Oliver 44 lines, man
Zozo 28 lines, man
Captain 27 lines
Gloria 25 lines
Jock 20 lines, man
George 16 lines, man
Odette 16 lines, woman

Full cast, 37 people

Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina
Sophie Okonedo as Tatiana Rusesabagina
Nick Nolte as Colonel Oliver
Fana Mokoena as General Bizimungu
Desmond Dube as Dube
Hakeem Kae-Kazim as George Rutaganda
Tony Kgoroge as Gregoire
Cara Seymour as Pat Archer
David O'Hara as David
Joaquin Phoenix as Jack Daglish
Mosa Kaiser as Elys Rusesabagina
Mathabo Pieterson as Diane Rusesabagina
Ofentse Modiselle as Roger Rusesabagina
Xolani Mali as Policeman
Rosie Motene as Receptionist
Neil McCarthy as Jean Jacques
Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole as Head Chef
Jeremiah Ndlovu as Old Guard
Lebo Mashile as Odette
Antonio David Lyons as Thomas Mirama
Leleti Khumalo as Fedens
Kgomotso Seitshohlo as Anais
Lerato Mokgotho as Carina
Lennox Mathabathe as Peter
Mothusi Magano as Benedict
Noxolo Maqashalala as Chloe (Prostitute)
Thulani Nyembe as Jean Baptiste
Simo Magwaza as Hutu Captain
Mirriam Ngomani as Gregoire's Girlfriend
Harriet Manamela as Alice the Waitress
Roberto Citran as Priest
Mduduzi Mabaso as Hutu Lieutenant
Sonni Chidiebere as Militiaman
Thomas Kariuki Matheri as Xavier
Sibusiso Mhlongo as Militiaman
Ashleigh Tobias as Medic
Jean Reno as Sabena Airlines President, Mr. Tillens (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 18% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 198

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 5	0	30
6 to 10	0	12
11 to 15	0	19
16 to 20	0	10
21 to 25	6	17
26 to 30	4	20
31 to 35	9	16
36 to 40	5	23
41 to 45	0	21
46 to 50	2	16
51 to 55	0	0
56 to 60	10	14
61 to 65	7	13
66 to 70	2	9
71 to 75	2	22
76 to 80	1	8
81 to 85	6	24
86 to 90	0	27
91 to 95	0	10
96 to 100	2	11
101 to 105	4	24
106 to 110	5	23
111 to 115	0	10
116 to 120	4	21
121 to 125	0	11
126 to 130	1	16
131 to 135	1	47
136 to 140	9	29
141 to 145	0	20
146 to 150	1	10
151 to 155	16	35
156 to 160	6	17
161 to 165	4	8
166 to 170	1	4
171 to 175	2	8
176 to 180	1	16
181 to 185	8	30
186 to 190	0	48
191 to 195	0	9
196 to 198	3	13

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.

122 lines from women, 721 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

8 women and 20 men in the cast. 3 women and 18 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 108 of 1,025. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 107 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (787), men 90% (6,947). Women have 14% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

4 of the 18 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Terry George (man)
Written by: Keir Pearson (man), Terry George (man)
Produced by: A. Kitman Ho (man), Terry George (man)
Shot by: Robert Fraisse (man)
Edited by: Naomi Geraghty (woman)
Music by: Rupert Gregson-Williams (man), Martin Russell (gender not listed), Andrea Guerra (man)
Production design by: Johnny Breedt (man), Tony Burrough (man)
Costumes by: Ruy Filipe (gender not listed)
Cast by: Moonyeenn Lee (woman), Richard Pagano (man), Sarah Trevis (woman), Vanessa Baker (woman), Brendan Donnison (man)