A "review" of Blood Diamond

Wonderful review from New Yorker And love his comment about the chemistry between Danny and Maddy.. AS one who has seen the movie I can at-*test*-('") his comment is sooooo true Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly ravish each other with mere glances. The Review Africa breaks your heart—that’s the simplest and most persistent emotion that bursts out of such recent films as “Hotel Rwanda,” “The Constant Gardener,” “The Last King of Scotland,” and, now, “Blood Diamond,” the best and most enjoyable of this cycle of movies set against the background of civil wars, ethnic conflict, and Western meddling and exploitation. The earlier films, whatever their considerable virtues, were so thoroughly suffused with guilt over the West’s role in Africa’s misery that they left you chastened and hanging your head. But “Blood Diamond,” written by Charles Leavitt, from an idea that he developed with C. Gaby Mitchell, and directed by Edward Zwick, is essentially a romantic adventure story with politics in the background—an old-fashioned movie, I suppose, but exciting and stunningly well made. In Sierra Leone, in 1999, a civil war, fuelled by the trade in “blood diamonds”—in which gems are smuggled out of the country and sold to European buyers for arms money—has been raging for years, tearing up the countryside and pulling families apart. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a fisherman, loses his son to the guerrilla army, the Revolutionary United Front, which press-gangs the boy into service. The R.U.F. also forces Solomon to work in the diamond fields, where he pulls a pink stone from the marshy waters. He buries it, but word gets around. It’s a very big diamond, and a smuggler named Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a white Rhodesian by birth and a former mercenary in Angola, wants it. In the capital city of Freetown, Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), a magazine reporter, tries to cozy up to Archer so that she can get the story of how the smuggling racket works. Solomon, Danny, and Maddy all want something, and they take turns using, helping, and half trusting one another to get it, stumbling in and out of war zones as young killers rampage through the towns firing AK-47s from the backs of pickup trucks. You may sense that this tale is vaguely derivative—there are elements of “Casablanca,” “The Defiant Ones,” “Under Fire,” and Hemingway novels woven into it—but you can enjoy what’s synthetic and movieish in “Blood Diamond” without finding the film any less stirring as a portrait of Africa in chaos. “Blood Diamond” is violent and spectacular, with a steady current of sexual tension. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly ravish each other with mere glances. The picture is poised on the edge of popular romance, and that’s a good place to be; Zwick does serious work there, pulling back from the obvious and digging deeper into Africa’s troubles. DiCaprio’s smuggler is out of the Bogart mold—the loner working only for himself, a wounded but self-sufficient guy who’s tough on women, and courageous in offhanded and improvised ways that will never reveal a moral intention. DiCaprio may not be Bogart, but he’s no longer dewy: he’s still got the golden hair and the blue eyes, but the cat-faced features that drove girls nuts in “Titanic” have thickened slightly, and his voice is lower and more biting. The savory, English-flecked patois in which he converses with the thugs is delightful, and there’s a ready humor in his open enjoyment of deceit, bribery, and dirty deals. Connelly, who has stroked the brow of too many suffering males in the past, is openly flirtatious and avid this time. Maddy uses her looks to get men to talk. She’s tired of writing sensitive, useless pieces about African victims; she’s willing to trade a night in bed for a fresh story, but it had better be a good one. Seducing DiCaprio and putting him off at the same time, Connelly suddenly seems like a movie star, not a warm-eyed soul mate. Djimon Hounsou’s bereaved father, too anguished to play games with these flirtatious highfliers, keeps the movie’s moral sense firmly in place. The director, the producers, and the writers are conscientious liberals; they let us know that every time a valuable natural resource has been discovered in Africa—whether it’s ivory, gold, or diamonds—white Europeans have hired surrogates to plunder the goods, and the Africans have suffered terribly. (“Let’s hope they don’t discover oil here,” a war-dazed old man says.) But the filmmakers don’t preach at us; they work out the social meanings and the controlling economic interests through action. “Blood Diamond” is Zwick’s best movie. He has jettisoned the noble clichés of “Glory,” the grandstanding of “The Siege,” the embarrassing solemn antics of Tom Cruise besting the Japanese at swordplay in “The Last Samurai.” Like a proficient Hollywood director from sixty years ago, he has found the right balance between star glamour and social conscience. The scenes of rampage and slaughter, shot with a handheld camera that plunges the spectator into the middle of the action, are both nerve-racking and saddening. As the three companions move around the country, the traces of civil conflict—the human and physical wrecks left in the wake of the struggle—become increasingly nightmarish. And, without sensationalizing, Zwick shows us the workings of a recurring phenomenon that goes beyond heartbreak to the most sordid tragedy: the way warlords give boys a sense of power with guns, liquor, and drugs, and turn them into joyous killers.

Thanks Peanut :D . Here's the direct link http://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/articles/061211crci_cinema Having seen the movie Friday, I can without revealing any spoilers say Ed Zwick surprised me this time :wink:

Thanks for that article Pea. I'm really looking forward to seeing BD!

Sorry, that should have been Saturday, not Friday. Added observation: after seeing the movie, then, believe now whoever put together the trailer should be fired, or at the least given another responsibility :lol: . It really gives the wrong (read: bad) impression about the overall movie with the cut up scenes they chose to highlight to impress a potential viewer.

oh my... people were right about emmanuel levy ! the guy changed is initial review for blood diamond from B+ to B- now.

Village Voice predictably gives it a negative review (it gave The Departed one also, but not as negative); however, was interested to read the comments of this Rotten Tomatoes blogger Donnie Darko. Was expecting him not to like BD but he surprised me. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=524327

Another good review from Realmovies.com Having seen the movie, agree with the writer's take on DiCaprio's character Danny... Plus agree with his comment that the film 'challenges you ' Blood Diamond" reminded me that watching a movie helmed by Edward Zwick is always a confrontational experience. Whether dealing with the atrocities of the American civil war in "Glory," or the fog of war in "Courage Under Fire," Zwick finds some kind of sadistic pleasure in forcing us to explore our own internal gray areas of moral ambiguity. Then again, challenging the viewer is easy. However, challenging us while simultaneously providing an entertaining experience is the hard part. But that's exactly what Zwick does with this engrossing tale of the illegal diamond trade set in the chaotic backdrop of a civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone. It's part "Romancing the Stone" and part "Heart of Darkness." But it's better than both. Some might remember the horrific footage that trickled in via a few western news feeds during the 90s about the civil war raging in the western African country of Sierra Leone. The reports were only deemed important enough for us to hear because of the barbaric custom the rebels practiced of taking the future of their country out of the hands of voters. In other words, they carried out a systematic program of chopping off the hands of potential voters (including children) so that they wouldn't be able to participate in upcoming elections. That's the kind of tough subject matter we're dealing with in "Blood Diamond." It's real, it's dangerous, it's visceral, and most importantly, there are consequences to watching this film. The easy thing to do is to turn your head. Because the root of that country's struggles is far broader than what Zwick and screenwriter Charles Leavitt can even begin to show, they center their tale around three primary characters: Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary fighter turned diamond smuggler; Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a simple tribal fisherman looking to support his family; and Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an idealistic journalist attempting to bust a story on the truth behind "conflict diamonds" -- which refers to diamonds smuggled out of countries at war. The lives of these three individuals intersect when Solomon, who is separated from his family and forced to work in the diamond mines, finds an unusually large pink diamond (also called a blood diamond) and buries it for safekeeping. When Danny inadvertently learns of Solomon's diamond, he sees it as his ticket off the continent. Solomon uses the diamond as a means of bribing Danny to help him find his son, and Maddy just wants to photograph the whole ordeal for her report, one she hopes will open the world's eyes to the injustices within the diamond industry. All three are faced with tough moral decisions that draw them together while simultaneously driving them apart. As compelling and as socially relevant as this story is, it's the acting that makes the picture soar. And at the top of the heap is DiCaprio with yet another masterful turn. His Archer emerges as an extremely complex character. He's mean, he's a shrewd businessman, and he's well trained in the military arts. Yet he's sensitive when he needs to be, especially when Connelly's Maddy enters the picture. DiCaprio firmly grasps all aspects of his character and shows us that everyone else is just along for the ride. Hounsou holds his own with a character that, although a bit one-dimensional in scope, is critical to the film's success. His love for his missing son jumps off the screen and falls in our laps, particularly in one scene as he finally confronts his missing child. Hounsou gives us a great deal of insight into his character when he tells us, "Archer is pursuing a diamond, but Solomon's diamond is his son." There's plenty of heavy message in "Blood Diamond" -- perhaps diamonds should be considered as repulsive as fur -- but Zwick's expert hand guides our focus to so many other aspects of his story, and we never feel manipulated or overtly influenced. Expert dialogue delivered by veteran actors with authentic sounding accents (although I'm not quite sure what accents they were) is finely dovetailed with gripping action and beautiful scenery photographed by Eduardo Serra. As the credits rolled, I felt a bit relieved thinking that Sierra Leone's conflict didn't directly include the bloody hands of American involvement. Then, as I was reminded that Americans account for two-thirds of all diamonds purchased in the world, I realized I'd been challenged. A quick glance at the clock told me that what seemed like only thirty minutes was actually a 2 1/2 hour runtime. And I realized I'd also been entertained. http://www.realmovienews.com/reviews/2937

Lena Thanks for posting New Yorker link for me :) Also..thanks for assorted reviews And had to laugh when I read your comment below.....as like you..I saw the advanced screening last Sat and agree that the trailer doesn't do the film justice Added observation: after seeing the movie, then, believe now whoever put together the trailer should be fired, or at the least given another responsibility .

How does it differ from the trailer?

Another good review.....did want to say I did omit from the post the one line that is a 'spoiler' Great words about DiCaprio's performance http://filmcritic1963.typepad.com/reviews/2006/12/blood_diamond.html Antihero Leonardo DiCaprio Just Gets Better By Cole Smithey Volatile intrigue abounds in this politicized story about South African arms dealer and diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou - "Gladiator"), a former diamond mine captive desperate to reunite with his family. Solomon has hidden a rare pink diamond in Sierra Leone that Archer will go to any lengths to obtain. Jennifer Connelly plays Maddy Bowen, an idealistic American journalist with more than a passing interest in Archer and in the real story behind the conflict diamonds making their way into the world market. Archer and Solomon must journey deep into rebel territory in Sierra Leone to retrieve the glorified stone that could reunite Solomon with his family and buy Archer a way out of South Africa. Leonardo DiCaprio gives yet another career-high performance in this satisfying fast-paced action/drama by director Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai"). In "Blood Diamond," context is everything and the writers (C. Gaby Mitchell and Charles Leavitt) are keen to expose the illegal diamond trade that produces "conflict," or "blood," diamonds from banned zones. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) soldiers attack a small village in Sierra Leone whose impoverished inhabitants are indiscriminately shot by child soldiers on a mission to abduct more impressionable youth to be converted into new recruits. During the melee, an RUF officer with a machete uses an overturned boat as a chopping block to cut off the hands and arms of his victims. "Short sleeve or long sleeve," he jokingly asks before committing the vile act that will inform the reality of the film. It is in this grotesque nightmare that Solomon’s child Dia is captured and the RUF commander spares Solomon’s arms in order to enslave the powerful man to gather diamonds that will finance the rebel group. A UN meeting provides essential exposition about the prohibited diamonds from such conflict zones that make up 15% of the world’s diamond trade. The story visits upon the chain of command that hoards and keeps the diamonds to keep prices high. Danny Archer tellingly calls the place where he was born "Rhodesia" instead of its proper name Zimbabwe. When Archer arrives to trade guns for diamonds with a local warlord he switches from speaking English to talking in tribal African slang while his partner in crime circles the area in a single propeller plane with the guns onboard. Before being thrown into jail for smuggling his diamond compensation sewn into the neck of a goat, Archer presents himself to police as a believable National Geographic journalist. In the first 15 minutes DiCaprio rifles through his character’s highly developed skill set with a pedal-to-the-metal approach that defines him as a fluent interloper trapped inside Africa using the survival techniques he’s perfected since witnessing the torture and murder of his parents when he was young. Archer’s recurring motto, "T.I.A." (This is Africa) sums up the cold logic that enables him to never underestimate situations or opportunities, Solomon and Archer are arrested under different circumstances but thrown into the same crowded jail where Solomon’s also-incarcerated diamond mine boss publicly accuses Solomon of hiding a large pink diamond. Archer takes note of the disclosure and bails Solomon out of jail the next day with the promise that he will help Solomon reunite with his family if he will share the diamond. American magazine journalist Maddy (Connelly) galvanizes the men’s alliance when she agrees to help locate Solomon’s wife and children, and it is her character that encourages Archer to see beyond his own selfish motives. "Blood Diamond" is a treasure pursuit movie where the life-or-death chase scenes keep you on the edge of your seat. Nearly every scene erupts in a different type of violence. Like last year’s "The History of Violence," "Blood Diamond" is a study in various factors that generated bloodthirsty fury. Edward Zwick leverages his characters’ tempers into a specific cinematic energy that functions on emotional, intellectual and physiological levels of empathy. Composer James Newton Howard ("King Kong") adds integral aural embellishments to the atmosphere and movement of the story without overpowering the material. A subtle reference to John Huston’s "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" in the film’s climax puts a grace note on the trajectory of Danny Archer’s value system and gives it an unexpected lilt of humor and humanity. Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly give pitch-perfect performances behind DiCaprio’s striking and ironic representation of a survivalist opportunist. It is unsettling to reflect on how our own instincts for survival, autonomy and wealth compare with Archer’s attitude. Here, Leonardo DiCaprio commands a film, in lead role, away from his mentor Martin Scorsese. The fruits of that apprenticeship are visible and it is clear that DiCaprio is the Marlon Brando of our time. The job he does in "Blood Diamond" should earn him an Oscar, more so even than for his performance in "The Departed" for which he will likely also be nominated. Danny Archer is a veritable anti-hero in a story of greed and brutality, and DiCaprio plays him with a tenacity and range of suppressed passion that carries us with him to the end of the earth.

ArtReborn, in my eyes, the trailer simply does not impart the emotional impact the movie has, especially in the scenes of the children who have been recruited to become soldiers, the evil and destruction of human lives that is chronicled, and on another note, the clips they chose to include in the trailer were some with the worst lines or lines that appear worse than they actually are when they are shown in snippets than within the context of the story . The movie was far more serious and emotional and real than I had imagined it to be. To Zwick's credit he does not sugarcoat things.

Thanks lena. After seeing the clips from the Oprah show, I definitely can see how emotional the film is. But I can understand why they chose not to show such heaviness in the intitial trailers. It may scare a lot of people off, therefore they tried to make it appear mpre like an action film. This part of that last review is great for Leo: "The fruits of that apprenticeship are visible and it is clear that DiCaprio is the Marlon Brando of our time."

Another good review from San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/12/05/entertainment/e132050S55.DTL `Blood Diamond' Is Harrowing By CHRISTY LEMIRE, AP Movie Critic Tuesday, December 5, 2006 01 20 PM With the powerfully acted, vividly shot "Blood Diamond," director Edward Zwick takes an unflinching look at the brutality of the African diamond trade. But there's so much dense, political and social drama going on here, amid such glorious and bleak scenery (the lush work of cinematographer Eduardo Serra), that Zwick ("Glory,""The Last Samurai") probably could have made a couple different movies out of it. "Blood Diamond" runs too long and the script from Charles Leavitt ("K-PAX") tends to get a bit preachy and didactic. But similar to other recent films set in Africa, including "Catch a Fire,""The Last King of Scotland" and "The Constant Gardener," it has an intensity that's just spellbinding, with surprises around every corner — many of them horrifying. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly star as three disparate figures in 1990s Sierra Leone who start out using each other and end up wanting to help each other. DiCaprio, as Zimbabwean smuggler and ex-mercenary Daniel Archer, is constantly on the hunt for the biggest stone out there. (Speaking impressively in several regional dialects and accents, DiCaprio is a formidable force of nature. It feels like the first time he's played a real man, a dangerous man who's lived a life and done destructive things, and for once his boyish good looks don't get in the way.) Hounsou, as fisherman Solomon Vandy, has been ripped from his home by militaristic rebels and forced to work in the diamond fields. He happens to have found an exceptional gem — a pink diamond the size of a large ice cube — and buried it in the ground. (He always has tremendous presence just standing there silently, but here Hounsou gets the showiest role of the three as a husband and father who has no idea what happened to his family, and his fear and frustration are overwhelming.) And Connelly, as American journalist Maddy Bowen, is investigating the widespread violence and corruption that pervade the diamond industry. (Connelly can be sly and sexy, fierce and feisty, but the concocted romance between her character and DiCaprio's feels forced.) Each of these people needs something from the others at various times: Daniel needs Solomon's diamond; Solomon needs Daniel to help him sell the diamond to get his family out of a camp in Guinea; and Maddy needs them both for a story she's writing, one she hopes will stand out from the rest and open people's eyes back home to the atrocities she sees every day. One such phenomenon is especially chilling: the methodology of taking young boys from their homes, putting automatic rifles in their tiny hands and turning them into remorseless killers. This is the fate that has befallen Solomon's oldest child, Dia (Kagiso Kuypers), who's kidnapped and brainwashed to become the same kind of young, zealous fighter that tore into his own village and destroyed his family. The story of what happens to boys like Dia would have provided the material for a seriously compelling film all its own. Difficult as it is to watch, you'd like to see the subject explored further. Instead, trying to rescue him is just one component of the trio's long and arduous journey. Daniel and Solomon struggle to survive a tremendously violent siege on the red-dirt roads of Freetown, where skinny kids blow up already dilapidated building using shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. And as they get closer to the hidden stone they seek, they also work together to endure thunderous air strikes on the diamond fields where Solomon once worked. Whether or not these characters become better people because of their sacrifices is irrelevant — the ultimate point of "Blood Diamond" is to make you think twice about where you buy that engagement ring or anniversary present. "Blood Diamond," a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated R for strong violence and language. Running time: 134 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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