Blood Diamond

It Will Cost You Everything

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio) - a South African mercenary - and Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) - a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Danny learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the rough stone. With the help of Maddy (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Danny, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory.

-Summary by imdb.com

Although I only watched this movie to determine if the people who were saying that Leonardo DiCaprio should have been nominated for ‘the departed’ and not ‘blood diamond’ were right or not, I have to say its one of the best movies I've seen this year. Although Many might not want to watch it because of its brutality; I strongly advise every one to watch this fabulous movie.

The main attractions here are the actors. The amazing Leonardo DiCaprio gives an Oscar-worthy performance, taking on a very believable accent, and managing to bring the character of ‘Danny Archer’ to life. Then there is Djimon Hounsou, who gives a truly memorable performance as the father looking for his son, through all the madness and the war. Jennifer Connelly also gives a very good performance as the journalist they meet on the way, though she isn't as good as she was in ‘A beautiful mind’.

The writing is also very well thought out, there are a lot of memorable quotes in this movie, and the comment Jennifer Connelly makes on the refugee camps is my favourite: “You might catch a minute of this on CNN, somewhere between sports and the weather.” This quote was proved to be right when after the movie was over; my dad switched to CNN and all they could talk about was the unfortunate death of Anna Nicole Smith, though on the other channels everything was about the Hamas-Fatah peace agreement.

Now on to the plot; the story was very touching and affecting. Some may call this a brutal movie, but its no more brutal than most favourite action movies, the only difference is that the brutality here is true, but the one in action movies is pure fiction. There are actually people dying everyday in Africa, innocent people, kids are really made to be soldiers, taught to kill at a very small age. These are all the happenings around the world, and people prefer to be oblivious to them, they prefer not to know where the rocks on their fingers come from or how many people died in the process of making their necklace. Therefor it’s great to see a movie every once in a while that actually deals with an important issue, rather than just some silly teen comedy that grosses everyone out.

Blood Diamond is a movie with a message, and the reaction from the diamond companies and the governments after this movie was released is proof that it has accomplished what it set out to do. Informing people, and telling the truth, I, for one, won’t be buying diamonds any time soon and if I do I'm going to make sure they are not conflict diamonds.

I truly recommend this movie to everyone; it opens the eyes, and touches the hearts. It’s definitely a must-see and I am shocked as to why it wasn't nominated for a best picture at the Oscars! 9/10 (and that’s just because I don’t give out 10s much!)