Blood Diamond (2006)

In his latest movie Leonardo DiCaprio plays a rogue-ish South African diamond smuggler. Or rather that make that an ex-“Rhodesian” (in his own words) who went on to serve in the infamous apartheid-era 32 Battalion . . .

Review by : James O'Ehley

Watch out! It's the lousy paparazzi again!

“Zimbabwe ,” an American journalist played by a horribly miscast Jennifer Connolly corrects him. “They call it Zimbabwe now.”

“Do they now?” he replies.

Usually Hollywood movies about Africa and South Africa are a source of hilarity to local audiences as Hollywood tends to get so many details about this country wrong. Who can forget Joss Ackland's atrocious “Afrikaans” accent as the villainous apartheid-era ambassador in Lethal Weapon II, for instance? Or that ornamental Nazi eagle in his office (come on, which Department of Foreign Affairs official's office ever looked like that?) Or how about the Nazi-like paraphernalia adorning the podium as the celluloid Jimmy Kruger made his notorious “Biko died after a hunger strike” speech in Cry Freedom?

But what South African audiences usually find the most entertaining (or insulting, depending on your sense of humour) is when Hollywood actors attempt a Seth Effrikan accent. (One can only imagine how they have mangled other “ethnic” accents in the movies throughout the years then, particularly in all those movies featuring the poor Russians as villains!)

However, in Blood Diamond we're happy to say that while DiCaprio doesn't always get the accent right, he at least gets the character spot on. Or maybe the role was just well-written, as the screenplay at least seems decently researched with an eye for detail and an ear for the local tongue.

“Doos,” DiCaprio's character murmurs when faced by an officious soldier, which had the audience I was with laugh appreciatively. DiCaprio has aged well enough to fit this role; no longer the fresh-faced boy star of Titanic, he is more credible as a tough action man than, let's say, the soft-faced Colin Farrell in Miami Vice. Cynical and opportunistic, DiCaprio comes off like an boer seun Han Solo, spouting the sort of political incorrect dialogue one imagine a character like him would in real life.

Blood Diamonds gets other things right too, mostly by casting local actors such as Arnold Vosloo and Marius Weyers as Afrikaner diamond smuggling heavies. One detail that is straight out of the Hollywood cliché rule book though is when DiCaprio's character visits the Stellenbosch vineyards of his employers and there are machinegun-wielding heavies all over the place guarding it like one always sees with Columbian drug lords in the movies. Very unlikely.

The movie is however unsure of itself, and can never make up its mind whether it is a searing indictment of the illegal diamond business or an adventure/action story – a more serious-minded Romancing the Stone or something.

It treads ground familiar to the recent Lord of War (starring Nicolas Cage) replete with war-torn African landscape, AK47-wielding boy soldiers and dismal refugee camps, painting a pessimistic picture of the continent in the process.

The picture isn't pretty, but accusations of racism are unfounded. Blood Diamond takes place during the 1999 civil war in Sierra Leone and at that stage in history there were few places any worse on planet Earth. Like its diamond smuggling main character you'll also want to get the hell out of this “godforsaken continent” after seeing Blood Diamond.

The movie makes the salient point that while Africa is rich in minerals such as diamonds and gold, its people aren't. Africa is still the poorest continent on the planet, and the same mineral wealth that would have been a blessing in any other scenario is just a curse in this one as kleptocratic African elites and amoral Western interests take advantage and bleed these supposedly “blessed” countries dry as their citizens suffer in anguished silence.

“It has always been like this,” DiCaprio's character remarks at one stage, and later on the point is reinforced as another character remarks how Belgian colonists hacked off the limbs of locals that “slacked” at their slave chores, pretty much the same way we see sadistic Sierra Leonean “rebel forces” do earlier.

“At least we don't have oil,” one poor local remarks. “Then we would have had REAL problems!” Amen to that, brother.

Blood Diamond tries to tack on a happy and hopeful ending but, as the end titles inform us, “there are still 200 000 child soldiers in Africa .”

Often overlong and violent, Blood Diamond should still be seen as it will have quite some resonance for local South African audiences. Not only in playing the “spot the location” game, but also in the issues it raises – not just regarding the illegal diamond trade – but also the continent which we live in.

Regarding the diamond industry, what would be a really interesting movie one day is how our illogical attachment to those shiny little bling bling gems is historically a relatively new phenomenon, largely the product of DeBeers' marketing efforts during the 1930s. Nope, not much value were attached to them before then. After all, emeralds are prettier and there isn't a lot that you can actually do with diamonds . . .

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