Parents' Guide to

Blood Diamond

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Extremely violent melodrama is not for kids.

Movie R 2006 138 minutes
Blood Diamond Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Thishan Tharuka Perera
Thishan Tharuka Perera Adult
February 6, 2021
age 15+
Great movie.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
cabalist
cabalist Adult
November 27, 2020
age 11+

Hard to Watch--For Many Reasons

As sensationalized violence, this movie is revolting. As a teaching tool this movie is as important as the violence is revolting. With a constant conversation between yourself and your child this movie can help to make sense of an otherwise "Why (& How) is this happening to these people???" question. Not a movie to leave to 'babysit' children but rather useful for educating them.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When devoted Sierra Leone husband/father Solomon Vandy's (Djimon Hounsou) 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"; Zimbabwe-born solider of fortune Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio) 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 Solomon, but also by a new friendship with U.S. reporter Maddy (Jennifer Connelly). 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. Danny dismisses Maddy's work in Sierra Leone and in other war zones 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. Though Maddy is cynical about the effects of U.S media, 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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (26):

BLOOD DIAMOND is equal parts earnest and muddled. While it does 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 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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the issue of "conflict diamonds." How is this problem similar to other ways in which people are exploited for resources, labor, or land?

  • How do Danny's morals change as he learns from the other main characters?

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