For more movie summaries, see Kam's Kapsules.
 THAT ONE WAS TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Danny Archer (Leondardo DiCaprio, left) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) barely manage to escape, unscathed, from an explosion which occurred in the course of the bloody civil war that was taking place in Sierra Leone. |
Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a soldier of fortune from Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), is in Sierra Leone to trade arms for diamonds to the highest bidder, regardless of whether it's the government or the rebel led Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Danny is bitter about the loss of his birthplace, which he refers to by its colonial name Rhodesia. He doesn't care how much blood is shed during Sierra Leone's interminable civil war as long as the violence is black versus black and he is able to profit from it.
Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a local fisherman from the Mende tribe who would like nothing more than to leave his homeland; but only after he finds his family — which vanished during the chaos — but he has no idea whether they're dead or alive. Solomon had the good fortune to find a priceless stone while being forced to dig for diamonds at gunpoint by the outlawed RUF. The problem is that he had to bury the gem at the mining site because he would have been executed on the spot if he had been caught stealing.
Meanwhile, Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist, is in the country doing research in an attempt to expose the nefarious role that the diamond industry plays in the war because it emphasises profits over human rights principles. Somehow the fates of these three strangers, Danny, Solomon and Maddy, become intertwined in Blood Diamond, a taut thriller directed by Edward Zwick (Glory).
Set in Sierra Leone in 1999, the movie is essentially an action adventure film despite its political pretensions. People interested in a more in depth examination of the subject should also see the informative documentary Empire in Africa, which is currently playing.
Filmed in Mozambique and South Africa, Blood Diamond is pure Hollywood. It is a roller coaster ride replete with gunplay, pyrotechnics, and multi-layered subplots; such as the unlikely relationship between Danny and Solomon, a budding romance between Maddy and Danny, and Maddy's concerns about Solomon's family.
Seemingly impervious to bullets, our heroes manage to emerge unscathed from scenarios where everyone else is dropping like flies.
DiCaprio, Hounsou, and Connelly turn in decent performances, even though they are upstaged by the war's savagery. Ultimately, all the loose ends of the story are tied together, although too sappily for those who know that Sierra Leone was really a hellhole of ethnic cleansing.
Good (1 star). Rated R for expletives, ethnic slurs, and graphic violence. Running time: 138 minutes. Studio: Warner Brothers.
For more movie summaries, see Kam's Kapsules.