Blood Diamond

Blood Diamond (2006)

Set during Sierra Leone's bloody civil war in 1999, this thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer, a smuggler who sells "blood" diamonds used to finance terrorists. When Archer meets a local fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) whose son has been forced into a child army, the two men's lives become intertwined, and they set off on an adventure that leads them through the world's major diamond centers. DiCaprio and Hounsou earned Oscar nods for their performances.

My Two Cents: In many respects it's a beautiful spectacle, and it overcomes the minor flaws inherent among films that allow geo-political arrogance to get in the way of things like acting, chemistry and story.

NetFlix Rank: Really Liked It
IMDB Rank: 8/10

Further thoughts:

Everything has to have a message these days, right? Look at the criticaly acclaimed films of the past few years and the subjects they've dealth with: inequality, corruption, relativism; it's almost as if filmmakers forget that their job is to entertain as much as it is to proselytize.

Blood Diamond deals with all of these themes, but its saving grace is that because the cast is so adept at conveying multiple dimensions, the film doesn't relegate its scope to simple propoganda. Instead it covers the full gamut of classic plotlines: survival, redemption, sacrifice, and a good ol' fashioned dichotomy between good and evil.

If for no other reason this film is worth watching because three of the best in the business display why they have a combined six Oscar nominations (and one win) among them.