Hotel Mumbai (5 Stars)

This is the 33rd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

In the introduction to the film the festival host said that Dev Patel is the best actor in any of this year's festival films. I agree. He's one of the best actors alive today.

"Hotel Mumbai" is the true story of a terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008. A group of Pakistani Moslems went into the city with the intention of killing as many people as possible, out of revenge for losing their homes. Many Moslems are of the opinion that all India rightfully belongs to them. Hinduism and its followers are considered to be evil. The men carried out attacks in 12 crowded places in the city, firing their guns indiscriminately, and finally four of them entered the luxurious Taj Hotel. They attempted to kill all the guests and staff.

The story highlights the plight of a few hotel guests, and it centres on the young waiter Arjun, played by Dev Patel. The violence is emotionally cold, and it's shown with documentary realism that shocks the viewer. The four young men don't seem to have given their actions any thought. They've been brainwashed into thinking it's the right thing to do.