History Film / BloodDiamond

''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 film about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin blood diamonds]]. It was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Creator/JenniferConnelly. Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebel forces. It follows two main points of view. Solomon Vandy is a Mende fisherman; his village is attacked and his son taken to be a child soldier, and the rest of his family goes missing while he himself winds up working in a slave camp. Danny Archer is an Anglo-African amoral ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe (though he adamantly keeps referring to it as [[IstanbulNotConstantinople Rhodesia]]) and diamond smuggler. He is arrested trying to smuggle diamonds by using a herd of goats as cover, and meets Solomon while in prison.

* CurbStompBattle: As soon as [[spoiler: the mercs' Hind]] shows up at the mining camp, you know what's about to happen.

* DefusingTheTykeBomb [[spoiler: Successfully done by Solomon to his own son, after a failed attempt earlier.]]

** In reality De Beers had no links to Executive Outcomes this time; Executive Outcomes were hired by the Sierra Leonean government for fifteen million dollars (although contrary to popular belief they were not also a mining company and did not receive "diamond mining concessions" or diamonds as payment. They retook the diamond fields the rebels used to raise funds but did not mine there or take any diamonds from the fields.) Since the U.N. and Clinton Administration pressured the Sierra Leonean government to kick EO out of the country once they had brought peace the diamond mines were quickly back in the hands of the rebels as peace collapsed a few months later.

* {{Foreshadowing}} "This is home. [[spoiler: You'll never leave Africa]]".

* IronicEcho: [[spoiler: "I'm the cameraman."]]

** Poison dies in the confusion of a surprise attack, after being chased down unarmed, like many of his victims. Even better is that [[spoiler: Solomon, the one he kidnapped and forced to dig diamonds for him, kills Poison with the very same shovel they forced him to pick up.]]

* MadeOfIron: Danny [[spoiler: takes a bullet which puts him in a lot of pain, but still manages to protect Solomon and get him to the plane. He manages a last phone call to Maddy before dying.]]
* MagicFeather: A fairly tragic one, as [[spoiler: Dia's identity as child-soldier "See-Me-No-More" is tied up in the cap that Poison gave him as part of his promotion. When that gets knocked off in the climactic battle, he reverts to plain old Dia... until he sees someone killed right in front of him.]]

* PetTheDog: Some of Captain Poison's displays of kindness to Dia Vandy seem to go beyond simply trying to brainwash him. In particular, [[spoiler: when the helicopter attacks]] he looks like he's trying to shield Dia with his own body.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Danny is ''way'' down on the cynical side. Maddy is further towards the idealistic end (and even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] Danny's cynicism), although she appears to be actively struggling to actually stay there. [[spoiler: The movie itself, while extremely dark and brutal, manages to end on a decisively idealistic (although [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]]) note.]]

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: The aforementioned ChildSoldiers swear like ''sailors''. Though it is tragic because you know how they learned to curse like that, it can be vaguely funny in a BlackComedy sort of way, [[spoiler: then they get over-excited and shoot TheObiWan.]]
* UnstoppableRage: In one of the most [[MomentOfAwesome epic hero-on-villain beatdowns in recent cinema]]
* VillainousRescue / GunshipRescue: The South African mercenaries obliterating the [[spoiler: blood diamond mining camp]] with a Mi-24 Hind gunship. Also a technical MomentOfAwesome since it was the first scene in any feature film, ''ever'', to feature the aircraft[[note]]Specifically the widely exported Hind-D model with twin bubble canopy, the Hind-A model has appeared in several movies, most notably ''[[Film/RedDawn1984 Red Dawn]]''[[/note]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Done by [[spoiler: The Mercenaries to Danny and Solomon, telling them they do not wish to share the profits and wished to erase all evidence involving them.]]

* AmoralAfrikaner: Col. Coetzee and his cronies are ex-Apartheid era military who now work as PrivateMilitaryContractors; Coetzee even speaks Afrikaans at some points in the future. Archer isn't quite played straight - he's from Rhodesia (pre-revolutionary Zimbabwe) - but he served in the SADF as well, has much the same attitude, and is hardly more moral than those he's supposed to be fighting against.

* ActorAllusion: Djimon Hounsou plays [[{{Amistad}} again]] a member of the Mende tribe.

* GrayAndBlackMorality: While the government's soldiers act like dicks at times and we are told that there are attrocities committed on both sides, the film does not show them doing war crimes on the scale of the RUF.

* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Gunship]]: The Mi-24 helicopter was seen flying around the merc base before the [[spoiler: diamond mine assault.]]

* [[spoiler:EarnYourHappyEnding]]: You sure did Solomon.

* FakeNationality:
** Danny Archer is a South African with a Rhodesian accent played by American {{Leonardo DiCaprio}}. [[GangsOfNewYork He pulls it off]] [[TheManInTheIronMask much better in this one.]]
** Djimon Hounsou is of both Beninese and American nationality and plays a Sierra Leonean fisherman.
** Captain Poison is played by British actor David Harewood.
** Averted with Arnold Vosloo who, for once, plays a South African character, and Jennifer Connelly who is even from New York like her character.

* SouthAfricansWithSurfaceToAirMissiles: The mercenaries are South African.

* VillainousRescue / GunshipRescue: The South African mercenaries obliterating the [[spoiler: blood diamond mining camp]] with a Mi-24 Hind gunship. Also a technical MomentOfAwesome since it was the first scene in any feature film, ''ever'', to feature the aircraft[[note]]Specifically the widely exported Hind-D model with twin bubble canopy, the Hind-A model has appeared in several movies, most notably [[Film/RedDawn1984 Red Dawn]][[/note]].

** Poison dies in the confussion of a surprise attack, after being chased down unarmed, like many of his victims. Even better is that [[spoiler: Solomon, the one he kidnapped and forced to dig diamonds for him, kills Poison with the very same shovel they forced him to pick up.]]
** The JerkAss reporter that tries to stop Solomon from getting a little orphan in the press bus saying that there is not enough space aboard presumably diez when the rebels lay waste on the vehicle.

--> '''Solomon:''' I thought you would try to take it from me.

* OscarBait: Five nominations, no wins. (Hounsou won three Supportings, though).

** "I am the... cameraman".

* ShovelStrike: Solomon used one to [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown give a beatdown]] to a slave master.

* VillainousRescue / GunshipRescue: The South African mercenaries obliterating the [[spoiler: blood diamond mining camp]] with a Mi-24 Hind gunship. Also a technical MomentOfAwesome since it was the first scene in any feature film, ''ever'', to feature the aircraft[[note]]Specifically the widely exported Hind-D model with twin bubble canopy, the Hind-A model has appeared in several [[Film/RedDawn1984 movies]][[/note]].
* WackyWaysideTribe: Averted with the local militia in the jungle. They just take the group to Kapanay's house and tell him that they are their problema now.

* MagicFeather: A fairly tragic one, as [[spoiler: Dia's identity as child-soldier "See-Me-No-More" is tied up in the cap that Poison gave him as part of his promotion. When that gets knocked off in the climactic battle, he reverts to plain old Dia... until having someone killed right in front of him.]]

* PetTheDog: Some of Captain Poison's displays of kindness to Dia Vandy seem to go beyond simply trying to brainwash him. In particular, [[spoiler: when the helicopter attacks]] he looks like he's trying to shield Dia with his own body.

->''There isn't a woman alive who doesn't love diamonds. Even the super left wing chicks who saw ''BloodDiamond'' and cried. When they get a diamond, they like, "Yeah, bitch, get more of them blood diamonds! Make 'em extra bloody."''
-->-- '''Tom Haverford''' (Aziz Ansari) on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''

** BiggerBad: Col. Coetzee and Van de Kamp.

* BookEnds: Near the beginning of the film, Van de Kamp speaks before a UN inquiry on blood diamond. At the end, [[spoiler:Solomon]] does after making possible Van de Kamp's arrest.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Solomon escapes with the diamond and is reunited with his family. Maddy exposes the blood diamond trade. Danny, directly responsible for both of these outcomes, dies slowly on a hill in Africa after being gutshot.]]
* EyepatchOfPower: Captain Poison

* KarmicDeath: Poison dies in the confussion of battle, after being chased down unarmed, like many of his victims. Even better is that [[spoiler: Solomon, the one he kidnapped and forced to dig diamonds for him, kills Poison with the very same shovel they forced him to pick up.]]

** As does Captain Poison

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: Solomon escapes with the diamond and is reunited with his family. Maddy exposes the blood diamond trade. Danny, directly responsible for both of these outcomes, dies slowly on a hill in Africa after being gutshot.]]

* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler:Solomon's son happens to be in the rebel camp right where Poison was told the diamond would be. [[InvokedTrope This is because Poison specifically bought him there as bait]].]]

* FakeNationality: Danny Archer is a South African with a Rhodesian accent played by American {{Leonardo DiCaprio}}. [[GangsOfNewYork He pulls it off]] [[TheManInTheIronMask much better in this one.]] Djimon Hounsou is of both Beninese and American nationality and plays a Sierra Leonean fisherman.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The [=RPGs=] Danny sold to the RUF [[ChekhovsGun early in the film]] are vital in overrunning the government's forces when the RUF attacks the capital.

* BilingualBonus: On occasion, Colonel Coetzee speaks Afrikaans, though the usefulness of what he says is fairly minimal.
---> '''Coetzee''': Ons gaan deur die kamp. As enigiemand beweeg, skiet hulle. Ons is nou terug. (We're moving through the camp. Shoot anyone who moves. We'll be back soon.)

->'''Coetzee''': Ons gaan deur die kamp. As enigiemand beweeg, skiet hulle. Ons is nou terug. (We're moving through the camp. Shoot anyone who moves. We'll be back soon.)

->'''As enigiemand beweeg, skiet hulle! (Shoot anyone who moves!)'''

** Don't call him a "kaffir," either; basically the African equivalent of "nigger". [[TruthInTelevision Truth in television]], using that word around Africans is very, VERY bad form.

* VillainousRescue / GunshipRescue: The South African mercenaries obliterating the [[spoiler: blood diamond mining camp]] with a Mi-24 Hind gunship. Also a technical MomentOfAwesome since it was the first scene in any feature film, ''ever'', to feature the aircraft[[hottip:* :Specifically the widely exported Hind-D model with twin bubble canopy, the Hind-A model has appeared in several [[Film/RedDawn1984 movies]].

Not to be confused with the similarly named {{Documentary}} ''Film/BloodDiamonds.''

* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler:Solo's son happens to be in the rebel camp right where Poison was told the diamond would be. [[InvokedTrope This is because Poison specifically bought him there as bait]].]]

* DatingCatwoman: Danny and Mandy constantly joke about how they plan to "screw" while remaining wary of each other since Danny knows she's a reporter. [[spoiler:He finally caves in and gives her the information she needs midway through the film, but they're forced to separate and never see each other again.]]