Blood Diamond: Netflix DVD Review

What a sad, scary movie. Makes you think twice about the jewelry on your fingers.

Blood Diamond takes place in a conflicted part of Sierra Leone where there is a civil war brewing. The Rebel United Front (R.U.F.) wants to take control of the government because they feel that the local people aren't benefiting enough from the diamond trade business. However, they are just as corrupt as and more violent than anyone else, utilizing child soldiers to kill nearly every village they run across, saving for men who are in good enough shape to mine diamonds. Those who won't benefit the R.U.F. are either killed or have an arm chopped off.

Leo DiCaprio plays a diamond smuggler and gun trader in the middle of the conflict. He regularly tries to play both sides of the fence, running diamonds to a major world seller for cheap. Djimon Hounsou is a villager who loses his son to the R.U.F. and gets enslaved by them as a diamond miner. Jennifer Connelly is an American reporter trying to do more than just report old news- she wants to get names and accounts of those involved with the illegal trade.

This movie was entertaining all the way through and worthy of the 5 Oscar Nominations, but it is not for the weak of heart. It was very disturbing to me to watch how these boys, some as young as 9, get captured and transformed into soldiers for the rebellion. They are so easily manipulated, forced to kill innocents in the name of the cause. I couldn't get the images of kids carrying machine guns, shooting like zombies into the villages because rebel leaders told them to.

But even more bothersome was the portrayal of the diamond and trade business and how everyone was there to make a buck. Even some who thought they weren't buying conflict diamonds or blood diamonds- diamonds mined from war-conflict areas- were still getting them. No one was innocent in the story, from the rebels to the traders to the big business.

My favorite part of the movie was the story of Djimon's character and his son. He, as any good father, tried everything he could to get his son back from those rebels. It seemed so endearing and so real; very worthy of the Best Supporting Actor nomination.

I do recommend people to watch this movie, especially Americans. We are all fascinated by material things and shiny baubles and brand-new this and brand-new that. I really don't think there's anything wrong with that mentality as long as we keep it in check and know where material things ranks on the list of what's important in life and what is not.

The downside of renting from Netflix is that sometimes you miss out on the two-disc benefits of some movies. I would have loved to seen the making of this movie and the special features on the second disc. I'll have to do some research in how to acquire one from the website. Maybe I'm just getting old, but movies aren't just movies to me anymore.