JOURNAL 5 Brittney Hanks

"for every hand in Marriage another is taken away"

 

 

A story Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War, screen play and story by Charles Leavitt and C. Gaby Mitchell, co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. Is based on true events based out of Sierra Leone.  The gruesome story is a true eye opener to what’s going outside of the united states and shows not everyone has to freedom and don’t live there life day by day in fear that the rebels will be coming to the village. The movie is a true eyeopener to undstadning what people went through in the 1990’s-2001.  This movie one you should watch to understand what some young people your age may have gone through, show the struggles that young men had to deal with. The message that the movie is trying to get across is Greed is corruption and killing solves nothing. In “A Long Way Gone” Ishmail Beah is just like Blood Diamond it has the same plots and settings but different story’s

In the movie Danny Archer Played by Leonardo DiCaprio worked for Coetzee, who became a mercenary leader. Danny became involved in smuggling 'conflict diamonds' from Sierra Leone to Liberia for Coetzee. When w first meet Solomon Vandy played by Djimon Hounsou (a local fisherman), he is in the village with his wife and kids until the rebels attacked the town and Solomon became captured by rebels. Since Solomon was captured he was put to work. When he was looking for diamonds, he came across an egg size diamond and hid it away. Until Solomon meets Danny in jail and Danny wants the money and the diamond. Danny promised Solomon he will help him find his family if he gets the diamond. When Solomon asked Danny “What if you don’t come out with the diamond?” Danny then responded back with “I don’t care, I will be probably dead.”   The men set off. Danny met a lady name Maddy Bowen at a bar and questions had been asked. Danny wanted nothing to do with Maddy he didn’t want his cover to be given away. Once they men found out they will need some extra help they called Maddy Bowen, an American journalist because she could help Solomon and Danny. Maddy located Solomon’s family and then found out that Solomon’s son was taken by the rebels. So the men were on the look for him they found him and took him with the men to go get the diamond and that point the Solomon Danny and Dea found them self in the middle of shooting range and they are the target. Danny got shot and was unable to keep going he told Solomon to go to the plane and go to London and meet Maddy she will help you. Solomon did what he was told and sold the Diamond and Let Maddy post her story. Danny died on the phone with Maddy knowing he saved a family.

In the beginning of the movie, Danny was a man who only cared about himself and the outcome of his self.  But In the end, when he told Solomon and Dea to go with the Diamond and meet his friend in the plane and Solomon will need to call Maddy when he reaches a phone, go to London and sell the diamond. Danny also told him to get his family to safety. Also Maddy got to publish her story, Danny said after the diamond was sold she could publish the story behind the blood diamonds. Danny became saintly to his new friends.

As when I was on MRQE.com on popMATTERS said “Blood Diamond means well. Equal parts earnest and muddled, it has done some good work before its release, bringing the persistent problem of conflict diamonds back into the U.S. news cycle. But the movie itself can’t seem to get out of its own way, relying on melodramatic clichés to make complex political observations.” I felt that Blood Diamond was every eye opening to watch the men go and kill like it’s to a problem. But truly it is a major problem back in the 1990’s.  Most people reviews said the movie was just okay.