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Storyline
An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide. |
Backdrops
The Director
Edward Zwick
Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and film producer noted for his sprawling war films. He has been described as a "throwback to an earlier era, an extremely cerebral director whose movies consistently feature fully rounded characters, difficult moral issues, and plots that thrive on the ambiguity of authority."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Edward Zwick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
User Reviews
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Blood Diamond (2006)
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It's 1997 in Sierra Leone. The civil war is at its height. Rebels are fighting government troops for control of the country.
However, this battle is not only against the government troops, but also the civilian population. The rebels blame them for electing the government. As they rampage through villages, killing and raping whoever crosses their path, they also chop off hands and arms, as a warning against further such foolishness. The boy children are taken away as young conscripts into a brutal army. The war is funded by the sale of Sierra Leone's abundant diamonds. The so-called blood diamonds. Control of the diamond fields is as important as control of the parliament and both sides will fight to the death for them.
Although Blood Diamond tells a fictional story, the background is very real. I know, I was there. I was supposed to be on a flight into Sierra Leone on the day the rebels seized the capital. Fortunately my flight was cancelled. I went to neighbouring Guinea instead, where my job was to deal with the ex-patriot refugees. Apparently writer Charles Leavitt conducted extensive research before sitting down to re-write the script. He did an excellent job. The film to a very large extent reflects the reality of the situation.
The abstract political situation is brought to life by Leonardo Di Caprio as a Rhodesian mercenary, and Djimon Hounsou as a fisherman who are caught up in the conflict. Hounsou finds a diamond, but loses his son. Di Caprio loses a diamond but finds love. What's more important?
I have long failed to understand the appeal of Leonardo Di Caprio. Shutter Island is awful, not least because of him. The Aviator...
View full review
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reviewed by cliodhna (Filmaster.com) on the 30th of September 2010
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Solid film making and wonderful acting, particularly from Hounsou and DiCaprio, allow this film to rise above the weaknesses of its somewhat convoluted script to say something tangible about humanity. This strength doesn't save it from melodrama, but it does make it more bearable.