Blood Diamond

Traffic dealt with drugs. Syriana dealt with oil. Lord of War dealt with the arms trade. And now Blood Diamond deals with conflict diamonds. Each of these films deals with the horrific effect greed for these commodities has on human lives. They’re also a wake-up call for cinema goers who would probably skip over a page 6 article on the topic in their daily newspapers.

If you’re totally unfamiliar with the humanitarian crisis resulting from the illegal conflict diamond trade, you’ll probably be hard hit by Blood Diamond. If however, you have any knowledge of events in North West Africa the information presented is pretty obvious and well-known. And in some cases a bit sanitised – rape is mentioned, but the film’s PG age restriction means we don’t see this horrific atrocity in any form.

What the film does present most successfully is the brainwashing of young captured boys, and their transformation into AK-47 wielding rebels. Remember that scene in Pinocchio where boys are lured to a funfair where they can do whatever they want? The rebel camps are depicted like this – men and boys drink, do drugs, slice themselves with razors and indulge their darkest desires. Anarchy rules.

Blood Diamond is a very good film, but it is far from brilliant. I wasn’t particularly emotionally affected by it. And frankly, I got more enjoyment from playing ‘Spot the South African location’, as much of the film was shot in Cape Town, Port Edward and up in Mozambique.

What the film does have in its favour are some electric action sequences that come out of nowhere like stray bullets. And performances are uniformly strong (It’s also great to see South African performers like Arnold Vosloo and Marius Weyers onscreen). Djimon Hounsou is at his most intense. Jennifer Connelly is suitably gutsy (although a totally unconvincing photographer).


I still think Leonardo Di Caprio should have been nominated for The Departed instead of Blood Diamond, but he does an excellent job here as Danny Archer, a tormented, cynical diamond smuggler and former mercenary. It’s amusing for a while to hear him spouting Souf Effricanisms like ‘bru’ and ‘You doos’, but over time you accept his accent and performance as a flawed man who is as much a product of Africa as Hounsou’s peasant fisherman.

Blood Diamond is worth seeing but it is certainly not the movie of the year. And don’t go into the cinema expecting a rollicking action-adventure. The film is gritty, intense and real.