Blood Diamond (2006)
**** out of ****
If you were to combine the brutal, realistic violence of “Munich” with the narrative style of global corruption that exists in “Syriana”, then the end result would be something along the lines of Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond”. But unlike “Syriana” this is a story not about oil, but the dirty business of diamond smuggling that still exists in war-ravaged Sierra Leone, but this film takes place in the late 1990′s; this is an uncompromising view of that world with powerhouse performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. I know that I’ve already given the title of Best Movie of 2006 to “The Departed” and then “The Good Shepherd” most recently, but after seeing “Blood Diamond” there’s no doubt in my mind that it quite literally blows the competition away. In fact, the only word that escaped from my lips as the credits began to roll was “Wow”.
“Blood Diamond” could have easily been overly preachy about the corruption of the diamond industry and the many lives that it costs, but in the hands of director Edward Zwick, it winds up being a powerful movie experience that will make you look down at the stone on your finger and consider how it came to be there. As a character says well into the movie: “People wouldn’t buy a ring if they knew it cost somebody else their hand.” And indeed, the hands of child labor workers are lopped off early on in the film. “Blood Diamond” may turn some viewers off with its preachy exposition scenes, but it also sports more gunplay than a Michael Bay film and bone-jarring action sequences that will make you both squirm uncomfortably in your seat and make you wonder exactly how the scenes were filmed.
The year is 1999 in Sierra Leone, where many Afrikaners are captured by rebels and forced to work in the diamond fields. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman who’s captured and soon discovers a small pink diamond during his labor. But after he buries it in a safe spot, he is then re-captured by another group of rebels and taken to a prison. Meanwhile, Danny Archer (DiCaprio with a strong South African accent), a diamond smuggler, is arrested for cleverly smuggling diamonds under the fur of goats. He’s taken to the same facility as Solomon, and Archer can’t help but overhear Solomon’s rants of a pink diamond he discovered. After both men are released, Archer finds Solomon and offers to help him find his kidnapped family in exchange for the diamond; Archer wishes to discover the stone so that he can use its value to pay off a debt he owes to a warlord.
Of course, Solomon is hesitant at first about getting Archer’s help, but he’s forced to work with him because Solomon soon realizes that he’ll need all the help he can get if he wishes to get his family back. They are soon joined by an American reporter named Maddie Bowen (Jennifer Connelly). Maddie has come to Sierra Leone to investigate the story behind conflict diamonds, or “blood diamonds”. As in many other wartime dramas such as these, we always get moments where we catch our breath and are teased with the possibilty of a romance between the two main characters, in this case Archer and Maddie. One of the best scenes is one of the film’s rare quiet moments in which Archer and Maddie sit beside a campfire at night and each of them shares important memories of their life.
“Sometimes I wonder if God will ever forgive us for what we’ve done to each other. Then I look around and I realize…God left this place a long time ago.” Archer’s words ring true as we see Sierra Leone surrender to inescapable madness during the film’s many gritty action scenes. And even though we’re not supposed to really enjoy the uncomfortably realistic action, we are still able to realize that those scenes are all a work of brilliantly orchestrated chaos. Our three characters must survive that chaos in order to get what they want.
“Blood Diamond” is what I like to call a thinker-thriller; one where the explosions and hard-hitting violence are joined by a more distinguished story and three dimensional characters. It immerses you right away with the dark reality and human drama of the real world. And the conviction of the actors combined with a solid story structure make for a rare type of action film: one that is gripping in the usual fashion, and emotionally. When you walk away from “Blood Diamond”, the film will have certainly left its mark on you.
DiCaprio has been on fire recently with October’s mob epic, “The Departed”, and now this. DiCaprio becomes Danny Archer, complete with a short, scruffy beard and thick South African accent. Hounsou gives a powerful performance as Solomon Vandy, and most of the film’s more poignant moments involve him. Both DiCaprio and Hounsou inhabit these fictional people effortlessly.
Each action sequence is filmed with a gritty, documentary-style authenticity that places us right in the center of all the explosions, gunfire, and panicky villagers. At times, the film is a little tough to sit through due to the very reason mentioned above. In no way does “Blood Diamond” sugarcoat the violence; on the contrary, it shows everything to you as if the footage were taken from actual photographs. “Blood Diamond” has truth in its title, in the sense that there is much bloodshed; and the worst part is knowing that all this may have actually happened, and all over the shiny stones that attract our eye almost every day. Director Edward Zwick puts us right on the edge of battle scene fatigue with one intense scene right after the other, but the end result is the most realistic, emotionally powerful and draining movie of the year that’s also a contender for Best Picture. “Blood Diamond” is the work of cinematic excellence, plain and simple.
But still, look past the gritty realism of the violence and the unflinching view of this true conflict that still exists today, and you’ll see the most powerful, moving, and intensely entertaining film of the year that is also the most important movie of 2006.
