Blood Diamond (9/10)

Director: Edward Zwick
Genre: Adventure / Drama / Action

First of all, after reading Ian's posts about movies, I've decided that I suck at reviewing movies. I'm such a movie fan that when I see a movie I like I turn into a blubbering idiot who can't get her words out. It's just, "ooooo I loved it!" And later, once I calm down, I can explain why. Anyway, I'm going to attempt...

First of all, this movie is about a huge, rare diamond that is discovered by a fisherman in Africa who was taken from his family and forced to mine for diamonds for the rebels in Sierra Leone. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a diamond smuggler who, while in prison, finds out about the diamond and the man (Djimon Hounsou) who found it. They join together for different reasons to find this diamond.

This movie touches on so many different issues that it is hard to put them all together. It is a common theme in media today to make a movie that has a very distinct social statement. You could argue that the world is getting worse, but I think it is more that Hollywood is focusing it's attention on certain issues now that have been going on for years. Many people are just beginning to open their eyes to what is going on in other countries. This movie is one of these eye-opening movies. It speaks of the value Americans in particular put on diamonds and how this is affecting the countries some of these diamonds are coming from. It almost made me wish that my wedding ring was some other kind of stone. But the emphasis they are making is that conflict diamonds are the diamonds we are to avoid. And it is now (after recent legislation) the responsibility of the consumer to demand diamonds that are not conflict diamonds.

I gave this movie a 9 out of 10. I don't think I can put my finger on the exact reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10. It had something to do with the way it made me feel. But I may decide it is a 10 later and come back and change this.



And on a personal note, my heart goes out to the African people and the turmoil and destruction that is present and has been present in their country for decades. There are terrible things happening that are beyond any of our comprehension here as Americans if we don't step outside our comfort zone to see. BUT, it is important that we don't focus all of our attention in the direction of Africa. There are other countries with similar devastating occurrences that are sometimes overlooked. Bosnia, Colombia, Iraq, Palestine, Thailand, Peru, Philippines, Cambodia, Congo, Iran, Vietnam - it is important not to forget these countries as well. I'm not minimizing the importance of the conflict in Africa, only reminding us they are not the only countries like that.