Review: Blood Diamond
I finally got around to watching the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film, Blood Diamond. Wow, was I ever impressed. What an incredible film.The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio (nominated for Best Actor) and Djimon Hounsou (nominated for Best Supporting Actor). Neither won their respective awards, but both were equally as worthy as the eventual winners. DiCaprio continues to blow me away with his performances. He is in the upper echelon of actors right now. I have always been a fan of Hounsou, dating back to his performances in Amistad and Gladiator.
Blood Diamond is a very serious film and centers around a very disturbing topic, but the one word I would use to describe the film, is “beautiful”. The filming is breath-taking, and director Edward Zwick (Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire, Glory, The Siege) does an incredible job. The scenery in the film wonderfully contrasts the extreme situations the characters are involved in.
The film focuses on the African country Sierra Leonne in 1999, where the dangerous diamond export business is wreaking havoc the entire country. Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) is an enslaved diamond-miner that finds a rare “blood diamond”. Danny Archer (DiCaprio) is a diamond smuggler that hears of Vandy’s findings, and tries to partner with him to ensure he become rich off of the rare diamond. The country is in the middle of a Civil War, and the rebels are very interested in getting their hands on the diamond.
The film is a drama, but is quite fast paced and has a good amount of action to keep the casual movie watcher entertained. I would recommend this film to anyone, especially those who appreciate a wonderful piece of art that this film most surely is.
My Rating: 9.5/10
November 25th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
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