A very moving film about a serious global issue

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2007)

I've been reading up on the diamond industry, and in particular the problem of blood diamonds, for 6 or 7 years now. So of course I was interested in checking out this film. First, I have to join the chorus of praise about Djimon Hounsou -- he is phenomenal. I think DiCaprio and Connelly are strong in this film, too, but the role of Solomon Vandy is so much more compelling and dramatic, and requires so much more from an actor, that Hounsou just just leaves them in his wake. The battle scenes (more like massacre scenes, actually) are frightening, overwhelming, and seemingly relentless. The movie does a great job of impressing upon the audience the sheer terror of just trying to survive in war-torn Sierra Leone. I do have three criticisms of this film. I found DiCaprio's last scene too drawn out; I think it would have been more impactful with less...just less. I also sensed some holes in continuity from time to time -- wait, how did we get from there to here again? Did I miss something? And the biggest disappointment of the film for me was the message shown at the film's conclusion: that diamond buyers should "insist on conflict-free" stones. To me, that is a completely pansy-assed conclusion that flies in the face of everything this movie is about. The message should be simply Do not buy any diamonds, period. Do you honestly think that the massive amount of money behind the diamond industry cannot find ways to lie about the origin of stones? Come on, don't be naive.