Blood Diamond
Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006.
Screenplay by Charles Leavitt.
Directed by Edward Zwick.

Starring:
• Leonardo DiCaprio - Danny Archer
• Djimon Hounsou - Solomon Vandy
• Jennifer Connelly - Maddy Bowen

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I borrowed this movie because everyone told me how great this film was and I figured 5 Oscar nominations must mean something. Wow, I'm glad that the library is free!

I just couldn't get into Leonardo as a merc -- he just seemed too young. He didn't do a bad job but I wanted someone more rugged and tough looking. I think I liked Jennifer Connelly better in Labyrinth. The scene in the schoolroom just seemed fake and like she was acting. Djimon Hounsou was fantastic. His was the only character that I really liked.

As to the plot, I'm a pretty well-read person so conflict diamonds weren't new to me, nor are most of the problems in Africa. This is why it bothered me that they didn't seem to explain why the government and RUF were at odds. In other countries, religion and ethnicity play a major role in the civil wars but I must have blinked and missed the caption on the screen explaining Sierra Leone. However, I was really impressed with how they portrayed child soldiers and the techniques used to indoctrinate them in hate. I'm going to have to remember some of those scenes to recommend for ISU projects.

There were some other things that bothered me in this film. This seemed like a very large budget film and yet the scenes depicting the riot and overthrow of the capital city had bullets pinging off of cars instead of going through them. There was a car chase in it -- I couldn't figure out if this was a drama or an action movie. I had no idea American rap and satellite television was available in the jungle and I'm not sure if that was factual or just a way of making them seem gangsta so kids could relate to them. And after how many rockets and missiles into the countryside, what were the chances that diamond was still going to be there? To top it all off, it seemed like it was suddenly buried a lot deeper than in the original scene.

I did cry at the ending but I saw it coming as soon as they met the teacher and he gave Danny his little speech. The biggest suprise was that the film didn't end with the plane flying into the sky for that happily ever after feel. Family discussion after the movie resulted in a couple of better endings and some interesting conversation on whether violence begets violence. Throughout the movie, there was periodic glimpses of really nice scenery to momentarily uplift you from the violence and horrible conditions.

I didn't really like this movie and would probably recommend watching Hotel Rwanda, Black Hawk Down or Lord of War instead.