Blood Diamond

Because I lived in Sierra Leone, in fact in Kono, the diamond-mining area of the country, for three years, I had to see Blood Diamond as soon as it came out. It is an excellent movie. Although it was not filmed in Sierra Leone, it captures the reality of the country to a remarkable degree. There is a great deal of violence in this movie, but that violence is organic, realistic, fitting to what happened there. They even manage to convey the fact that the people are as astonished by this violence as we are; Sierra Leone used to be one of the safest countries in the world. The movie tells the facts about conflict diamonds quickly and accurately. DiCaprio's performance is impressive, certainly the best by him I've ever seen: he is totally believable as a white African. Jennifer Connelly's role is much smaller but she makes the most of it. Djiman Housou has enormous physical presence as the brave Mende fisherman. This movie just gets so many things right that the few places it departs from reality are entirely forgivable. I would heartily recommend this movie to everyone; it is the best Hollywood movie I've seen in years.

The torturous road of South African diamonds to the greedy fingers of an indifferent world makes this new Edward Zwick movie one of the most powerful Action/Adventure/Dramas to come out of Hollywood in a long time. The perfect balance between entertainment and a thoughtful social commentary helps the center of the story to have a real heart and a palpable respect for us, the audience. All this praise and I still have not mentioned Leonardo Di Caprio or Djimon Hounsou but I'm going to. Di Caprio opens a new door, introducing us to a character who is a first in his already extraordinary career. He startled us as a very young man with "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" before he fell with a serious case of Titanictis. Now, after a three a long and serious Scorsese cures, this spectacular actor makes me believe that we haven't seen anything yet. Remarkable. As remarkable as the soulful Djimon Hounsou who manages to give the film a visible soul. I was moved and yes, I must admit, surprised. Apart from the visual and interpretative prowess of "Blood Diamond" there is a realistic view of a third world country as shattering as the unforgettable one in "City Of God" Don't miss it.

"Blood Diamond" is the kind of action film that makes you think that 'a moment of love, even in a bad man, can give meaning to a life...'

The film opens in Sierra Leone, 1999 when Civil war rages for control of the diamond fields…According to devastating reports, these stones are being used with both rebels and government forces to purchase more weapons and finance civil war…

Danny Archer—crazy for diamonds like everybody else—believes this pink gem holds his ticket out of this godforsaken continent… He is a smuggler, a former mercenary and weapons trader from Zimbabwe who bribes all, and supplies arms to both sides… He gets Solomon Vandy—captured by government troops—out of jail only because he overhears that the fisherman might have found a clear massive stone about the size of a bird's egg…

Vandy—forced apart from his family and sent off to work as a slave in the minefields—has hided the enormous 100 carat diamond from his captors and buried it in a secret place within the jungle… His son Dia is taking away by a brainwashing militia called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) turning him with lies, drugs, and liquor, into a cold-blooded murderer…

Danny makes a deal to help the noble fisherman find his family if Vandy will lead him to the diamond… The majority of the story is their journey across the war torn country…

Leonard DiCaprio is both ruthless and charming as the cynical soldier of fortune who knows an opportunity when it presents itself… But he also is aggressive and selfish willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants… He illustrates the black side of the dirty diamond trade… On his trek to find the stone, Archer's eyes are opened to some enduring values that surpass his own self-profit…

Djimon Hounsou eventually realizes that Danny's connections and money are his only hope… He plays a helpless character totally passionate as the resolving and fiercely determined father desperate to learn the fate of his family…

Connelly is an idealist who wishes to display corruption… She thinks that with Archer's help she can get a unique story line surrounding the civil war but also revealing corporate malfeasance and cover-up behind the diamond trade…

It is also good to mention Arnold Vosloo in the role of Colonel Coetzee, head of the army unit also trying to claim the diamond… He's a great character actor and remains a powerful presence and one of the screen's most efficient scene-stealer…

Nominated for five Oscars, "Blood Diamond" is an action, political adventure at its best!

What does it take to turn someone into a killer? The answer is different for each character involved in this movie. For some it is survival. For others it is the hope of escape from a life of hell. For some it is family. For others it is greed. Caught in the middle of it all are the children who have such little desire to kill for any reason that they must be brainwashed into becoming the instruments of their masters who claim to offer freedom.

Every few years an action movie comes along that has amazing depth. Terminator 2 and The Matrix are such movies, and so is Blood Diamond. It is full of characterizations we've seen before, but it's the interaction that raises this film above the masses. Each character has an agenda that forces him or her to distrust everyone else. The paths that some relationships take to develop trust are believable, while others are equally believable in remaining eternally antagonistic. And through it all is the realization that while some characters may change their methodology and morals, none ever change their dreams. Each character fights for the goal to the bitter end. Such is human nature, and such is the conflict of Blood Diamond, the conflict of Africa. In the end, we are left to wonder if peace can ever be attained in such a world. And somehow we are left believing that maybe it can.

In Sierra Leone, there exists diamonds worth a fair amount of money. But they are harvested by slaves and sold to fund genocide. This is the story of one of those slaves, a diamond smuggler (with connections to Belgium, England, And Liberia) and a journalist. Together, they will fight to win a story, a diamond and a family. But sacrifices will be made.

We have an amazing cast, so let me just get them out of the way -- Leonardo DiCaprio as smuggler Danny Archer, Djimon Hounsou as native African Solomon Vandy and Jennifer Connelly as journalist Maddy Bowen. DiCaprio rarely makes bad films, and my unending praise for Connelly is seen in a variety of reviews I've written... this film will be no exception to her glowing track record.

This film has action, suspense and a good story to tell. Like "The Insider" (or whatever the tobacco movie is called), this exposes how diamonds come to be on the market. I'd like to say things have improved since the time period shown here (1990s) but I don't know if I believe that. I appreciate the honest portrayal here, not shying away from the violence or the horrible conditions the children go through. Humor is absent, and even romance (which would be so easy to add in) is never at the front of the story.

I don't know how to sell this film other than that: if you care about world events, or care about the fate of innocent people ,you'll care about this movie. Even if you don't want this to be that heavy and just take it as entertainment (which it is on some levels), I think you'll still enjoy it (Jennifer Connelly!). Wish I could say more, but it's a cut and dry case: great movie, worth seeing, check it out.