Blood Diamond

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.

A few years back I had the pleasure of visiting Antwerp, Belgium, a place many deem "the diamond capital of the world." Never before or since have I been in a location where I was surrounded by so much "bling". Storefronts had so many diamonds on display you would think they should be better kept in some European version of Fort Knox.

The film Blood Diamond puts an entirely new spin on Antwerp, the diamond industry and that pricey stone you might be wearing around your neck, on your ring finger, or in your ears (mine are cubic-Zs). Set in the West African country of Sierra Leone during the 1990s, this historical-adventure-drama covers a time when the country was in turmoil. Warlords, smugglers and the diamond syndicate all play roles in a refugee exodus, and the killing and enslaving of men to work the diamond fields. The title refers to diamonds which are harvested, smuggled and traded to finance the purchase of weapons used in Civil War.

Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) stars as a fisherman who has his family torn apart and instead of being killed, is sent to work mining diamonds where he finds and hides a large stone. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) a former mercenary, diamond-smuggler, middleman, you-name-it, is looking to score with that stone and exit the business for good. Writer Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) is tired of writing shallow stories about less than newsworthy events; she is looking for information about major players in the diamond trade. They all come together in a fast paced, adventure packed piece of film-making that is brutal at times but never boring. The film has a pleasant, unanticipated ending, something hard to pull off in a film of this kind.

Director/Producer Edward Zwick is probably the best in Hollywood at taking a big budget feature film with a historical theme and carefully relay a message without lecturing his audience. His earlier works include a story of the first all-black U.S. Civil War company in "Glory" a film, which resulted in Denzel Washington winning his first Oscar. Zwick takes credit for works like The Last Samurai, Shakespeare in Love, Traffic and Courage Under Fire. He is second to no one when it comes to balancing a historical event with action-drama entertainment. Edward Zwick is one of few L.A. directors who still works within the Hollywood establishment yet is able to put out good quality film.

Check out Blood Diamond, your "bling" may never look the same again.

This film tells the story of two young men who are involved in the diamond trade, one willingly and the other one reluctantly.

"Blood Diamond"is a tough film to watch. There are many scenes portraying monstrous atrocities that are so disturbing. I can hardly believe that in some countries the political situation it's do unstable that people just drive around with machine guns, killing innocent citizens whenever they want to. The country and the economy cannot develop under those circumstances. It's horrifyingly sad to see such things happening, and it's even more sad to see such crimes against humanity is fuelled by people's demand for diamonds. Diamonds have such a noble image that no one could even imagine how dark the origin of the gem is.

The film is well made, the script is engaging and the pacing is tight. We see the two leads depending on each other to get what they wanted, and the ultimate sacrifice they have to make is shocking. "Blood Diamond" is a must watch for anyone with a heart.