Good idea, just tried too hard

Rating: 6/10 (18 March 2007)

"Blood Diamond"  Rated R, C
"Blood Diamond" is one of the most confusing movies I've seen in quite some time. I can't say that I enjoyed it or hated it. Some parts are brilliant, but others are preachy and predictable.
There are too many stories within the film to describe. It might be easier to list what I consider the main themes of the film, most of which are universal: · Parents want a better life for their kids. · Individuals are greedy, but governments are greedier. · Redemption is always possible. · Dire circumstances force people to perform unlikely actions to survive. · People will trade whatever they have for whatever they want.
In late 1990s Sierra Leone, the main commodity is diamonds. Rebels coerce the locals into sifting through the muddy river to get them. If they do, they get to live. If not, they don't. It's that simple. But one man (Djimon Hounsou) sees a way out of the refugee camps for himself and his family when he finds a large diamond, which he then steals and buries.
After getting arrested, he gets accused of stealing the diamond but there's no proof. Fortunately (or maybe not) there just happens to be a diamond smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the other cell. After springing him, the smuggler offers to find the missing family in exchange for the diamond. After exhausting any legal possible alternatives, the two join forces.
The other integral part of this trio is an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly). After her initial fishing attempts are rebuffed, she decides to give her aide to the pair in exchange for proof of the story that she knows is there.
But this was where I started to get confused. What was the main point of the film? I can't even classify it  is it a drama, an action film, a political statement, or something else? I understood that Africa is a very chaotic place and that anything can happen at any time. Maybe I just didn't get it.
The scenes that affected me the most didn't have anything to do with the main characters  it had to do with the training of children. One scene in particular hit me  a child is blindfolded, given a machine gun and then told to shoot. He does, but what's he's not told is that an adult will be thrown in front of him, who is obviously killed. The look on his face made me feel more than any speech of dialogue in the whole film.
At one point, Connelly's character is typing a story. She remarks that whatever she types won't make a difference. That maybe, if she's lucky, it may convince someone to write a check.
I can't help thinking that if this film wasn't quite as fragmented, it could have made some solid point  even if I'm not exactly sure what it would have been.