Africa has always been that continent we've all been sad for. We see ads of young children hungry beyond comprehension, malnourished, and yet, all we can do is cry a bit, feel sad, and then move on.

And after watching Blood Diamond, maybe that's all you'll see. Just another picture of Africa, in all its sorrow. We see the children soldiers being forced to wield AK-47s and slay innocent villagers. We see the slaughtering of hundreds of innocents and the bombardment of several different villages all in graphic and gory detail. And in the pits of our hearts, we feel almost like the main character, Danny Archer, played by Leonardo Di Caprio. "This is Africa."

A sense of cynicism dominates much of the movie. We see all these pictures of Africa, the grassy fields, the giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, the savanahs, and the familiar sun rising over the plains. But then, we also see the death, the violence, the destruction, the torture, the refugee camps, the lawlessness, the corruption, and all the horror that Africa has become. And yet, there is really nothing to do about it. Danny Archer, a smuggler who makes is fortune selling diamonds to a big company in London, tells the reporter, played by Jennifer Connelly, that people write stories all the time, and the Americans on the one hand pretend they care, but on the other fuck up the country even more by buying diamonds which have a history of blood behind them.

The story here is relatively simple. Solomon Vandy, a fisherman, played by Djimon Honsou, finds a diamond while working under the RUF, a terrorist group in Sierra Leone. Danny Archer finds out about it, and wants the diamond to escape Africa. The reporter (the name escapes me), wants a story to publish in her magazine. And Vandy wants to find his family, which was split apart by the RUF. There is the trio that makes up the bulk of the relatively straightforward, yet engrossing plot.

On the surface, it may seem like an action movie. Archer heroically drives the van with the reporter and Vandy in it, and while a hundred bullets are fired at them, they all escape. ANd perhaps its true that it is a bit like an action movie. But then, one cannot ignore the politics that are so brilliantly interwoven here. When Archer shoots the two men in front of the bridge, and so callously picks off the third who is running away, you wonder whether he really is a hero. Or whether he's just a byporduct of the "God forsaken continent."

Deep down, this movie shows how bad Africa really is, and how much the world doesn't care. Everyone has their own motive. Connelly wants her story, Di Caprio wants the diamond. Vandy seems like the one character who doesn't want money, and truly cares about his family. And then, there is the struggle to get the diamond. As the body count piles up, and the blood is shed, one wonders why. Why is this diamond being sought after? So some lady in America can have a wedding with a cool ring?

I hope that all the girls in America watch this movie. Then, if they even dare to try to ask their boyfriends/husbands for a diamond ring, they must be horrible human beings. My family doesn't own any diamonds, but if they did, I would personally be sick to my stomach after seeing that movie. The amount of deaths that have to occur just so one person can look beautiful - it's too much.

The characters are made brilliant by top notch acting performances by all our actors. Their motives are all clear, and they stick to them, and that's what makes them so good. Di Caprio makes Archer truly believable, and excells in his role as the conflicted anti-hero. The plot is decent, though not as good as I had hoped, perhaps a bit simple. But then again, its not the plot but the sadness that Africa presents to us that keeps us hooked.

Overall, this politically charged action adventure movie is very well done. The plot is a bit simple, and the ending is somewhat dramatized, when Vandy gets up to make his final speech. However, Di Caprio gives an amazing performance, with a perfect South African accent, and an amazing blend cynycism and charm. His final scene is very touching, and very well acted, staying true to his theme of "this is africa."

For a movie that is so cynical in its portrayal of Africa, the ending is a bit stupid, because it tries to be uplifting about the situation, claiming that Sierra Leone is now at peace and that the UN is working towards solutions. However, perhaps that is the point of Director Edward Zwick, to make the audience think "my ass" as they watch those words come up onto the screen. We all know that Africa is still fucked, plain and simple. Europe fucked it up to begin with, America continues to fuck it up, and the whole world watches and doesn't even give a fuck.

Overall: A scathing slash at American consumerism, and at the world's inability to care combined with an action-adventure story and incredible acting make for an emotionally intense and politically brilliant film.

Acting: A+ (Di Caprio and Honsou are very good, especially the former, Connelly is very strong as well)
Plot: B (a bit too simple for this movie, I was expecting a bit more, but overall, not too bad, keeps you hooked and interested)
Characters: A
Themes and Messages: A+
Music: B+ (nothing memorable, but invokes the sadness of Africa)
Effects: A (realistic violence, not overly bloody, good recreations of villages, raids, etc).

Overall: A-

Perhaps I'm just giving this movie this good of a review because of the sad picture presented by Africa, or perhaps it still makes me angry to think of what we do to such a place. Whether its oil, diamonds, ivory, whatever, we fuck up a country to get it. I hope this movie helps us realize how ashamed all of us should be. And I hope that a lot of the females in the US realize what it cost to make that diamond ring they're wearing.