Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this mature action-drama isn't for young kids (even though Leo lovers may want to see it). It's extremely violent, with frequent scenes of war and abusive labor practices (villagers' hands are chopped off and mineworkers are shot dead for disobeying orders). Weapons include guns, machetes, knives, grenades, missiles, Molotov cocktails, and AK-47s. Most upsetting: Young boys are kidnapped from their families and trained to kill, chanting "Shed their blood." The children also smoke cigarettes and drink. Displays of anger lead to arguments and fistfights. During a massacre scene, a body is thrown from a balcony, bodies spurt blood, and buildings explode. Characters drink frequently and smoke lots of cigarettes. Language includes many uses of "f--k" and one pronounced use of the African racist term "kaffir."
Families can discuss the issue of "conflict diamonds." How is this problem similar to other ways that people are exploited for resources, labor, or land? Is it the media's responsibility to call attention to these situations? Do you think movies like this can really make a difference? How do Danny's morals change as he learns from the black father and the white woman journalist?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
BLOOD DIAMOND is equal parts earnest and muddled. While its release has already done good work by bringing the lingering problem of African conflict diamonds back into the news, the movie itself is ungainly and retro, using white characters to illuminate the problem -- while also simplifying it.
The film's emotional focus is split between two men: freewheeling, Zimbabwe-born solider of fortune Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a devoted husband and father in Sierra Leone. When his family is dispersed by rebel militias and his young son Dia (Kagiso Kuypers) conscripted to serve as a child solider, Solomon is sent to work as a diamond miner. As luck has it, he finds a gigantic 100-karat "pink"; Danny happens to hear of this, and soon the two undertake a tense and untrusting agreement: Danny will help Solomon find his family ... and a buyer for the diamond.
But Danny is set onto a moral-lesson-learning path -- not only by his relationship with the painfully sincere Solomon (once again, the always-compelling Hounsou is relegated to instruct a white man in good behavior), but also by a new friendship with Maddy (Jennifer Connelly), a reporter for a U.S news magazine. Though she, too, distrusts Danny, she wants the story he can give her about the ins and outs of the illegal arms and diamond traffic, which makes wealthy Western diamond dealers even wealthier, at the expense of black Africans' lives.
Danny dismisses Maddy's work in Sierra Leone and in other war zones (she's been to Afghanistan and Bosnia) as "writing about it" -- that is, observing and exploiting, just as he does. But she feels a passion for the cause, especially when she meets Solomon; the movie has them join forces to locate his wife, Jassie (Benu Mabhena), and their daughters. Though Maddy is also cynical about the effects of U.S media ("You might catch a minute of this on CNN, right there between sports and weather"), she believes she can help by "writing about it." So she agrees to the plan: Danny will help her as she helps Solomon, and, in turn, Solomon will find his hidden diamond for Danny.
Blood Diamond shows plenty of the effects of the diamond-and-arms traffic: battles and massacres involving a range of forces, from local militias to the Revolutionary United Front to the national military. The violence is horrific, and the effects are clearly devastating, but the focus on Danny's ethical education detracts from what seem like more urgent troubles (say, a million refugees).
The film does suggest that it understands its limits in several references to the racism that allows such systems of exploitation to persist and even thrive. Danny cajoles Solomon: "I know people, white people. Without me, you're just another black man in Africa, all right?" This is partly true, but the film makes this black man a figure for righteous vengeance, and his immediate targets are other black men in Africa, with large guns, bloody machetes, and scarred faces. White, designer-suited Europeans in Antwerp and London do appear as beneficiaries of the bloodshed, but they don't suffer the same sorts of visceral, audience-moving consequences as the villainous Africans.
Those who enjoy the film might want to see director Edward Zwick's more effective The Siege or the soapy relief workers saga Beyond Borders. For another recent look at racial issues in Africa, try Catch a Fire.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentVillain reads Hustler; Solomon strips naked to show he's not carrying the diamond (his torso remains in shadow); mild flirting between leads and a moment of close dancing; mention of Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment (as "blowjobs-gate"); some shots show cleavage. |
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ViolenceIncessant violence: grenades, explosions, shooting, missile fire, whacking with machetes; frequent bloody bodies visible; children who have been kidnapped and conscripted as "soldiers" shoot and are shot; dismemberment (arm chopped off explicitly); prisoners in rough cages; militia members ride through towns in Jeeps, shooting at everyone in sight; children frightened and appalled by sight of dead parents; Dia (Solomon's son) is traumatized and trained to kill on command; goat's neck cut open, with diamonds hidden inside (bloody); massacre scene leaves many bloody bodies in street; Danny pulls a cap off a corpse to use as a disguise, then reveals he's a stone-cold assassin, killing several men efficiently. |
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LanguageFrequent use of "f--k" (20+), one powerful use of "kaffir" (African equivalent of the n-word), plus other language, such as "s--t" (15+), and "ass" (5 or so uses). |
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Social BehaviorThe hero starts out as a smuggler and killer and learns to be a good man; the movie uses a too-famliar structure, whereby the white hero (African-born in this case, though played by U.S. star), retrieves his moral compass from, then saves a dedicated black African father. |
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CommercialismYoung African soldier wears a Snoop Dogg T-shirt; mention of Baywatch (as sign of American freedom) and National Geographic. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoFrequent cigarette smoking; several scenes in bars or showing social and hard drinking; during a long hike, Danny says he needs to "quit smoking." |
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