a journey with grit that washes to reveal a true Hollywood gem

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2006)

Walking out of Hotel Rwanda I was challenged to explain why I was the only one of my group who thought that it lacked, why its story seemed to remain on the surface. I never felt it did the genocide's' justice. Having watched BLOOD DIAMOND it was made perfectly clear to me why I felt that way during Hotel Rwanda; in BLOOD DIAMOND we watch a long, but well told tale of the atrocities that existed in the 80's and 90's in the race for diamonds.
The truth of that period is well known, and director Edward Zwick does well to make the film grounded in truth through representation of the struggle as history says it was. Rather than watering down the violence, and the pain that results, Zwick puts the viewer on the ground, in a run for their life.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connolly all commanded the screen, each possessing differing morals and personal direction; and in both cases much of their existence seemed to be ultimately determined by the civil wars of Sierra Leone.
Dicaprio is convincing as a White African, with his Southern African slang, and Hounsou appears firm, solid in this role as a father and man of great conviction; he is strong. And Connolly, always bright, strong delivery; with a passionate eloquence that adds a sincerity to the films telling that had a calming effect on the films jarring action.
At some point during the film I can imagine that many people watching thought to themselves, "was the struggle there this bad?", the film does not shy away from taking its narrative directly into the heart of the struggle, often times it feels like struggle is following them. As the story plays out it becomes journey, a search for a diamond and a search for a son; it is all of the experiences that along the way that make the journey of this film most enjoyable.