Blood Diamond

Great story telling. Full of emotion. Leo - a completely believable performance.

Some of the quotes that really stood out to me...

On good versus bad...
"Would you say that people are mostly good ?"
"No, I'd say they're just people"
"exactly, it is what they do that makes them good or bad"

On the value of life...
"People here kill each other as a way of life, it's always been like that"

On humanity...
"How can my own people do this to each another"

T.I.A.

8.5/10

Links: Blood Diamond. Sierra Leone - Conflicts in Africa.

According to UNICEF: Recent developments in warfare have significantly heightened the dangers for children. During the last decade, it is estimated (and these figures, while specific, are necessarily orders of magnitude) that child victims have included:

• 2 million killed;
• 4-5 million disabled;
• 12 million left homeless;
• more than 1 million orphaned or separated from their parents;
• some 10 million psychologically traumatized.
• There are an estimated 120,000 child soldiers in Africa.

It's really a shame that movie makers feel they need to splatter in scenes of brutal violence (although the occurrences here were minimal) to make a point. I think, the film can be just as effective using elements of cinematic tension. I wonder how many people (beyond SRS) miss these feelings because the subject matter is too disturbing (or worse too Hollywood). I feel it's important to feel this and for me, it's a way to feel connected to the world. Although, taking action on what I see, feel or read still seems difficult ?