THIS IS NOT A MOVIE REVIEW.IT'S ABOUT THE MOVIE EXPERIENCE WHICH IS A LOT MORE DIFFERENT THAN JUST A REVIEW.


I was bored...very bored.I'd finished reading all the books i'd brought from the library, of which most of them were PATHETIC!.

So..I switched on the idiot box.

NOTE: I'm not an avid tv watcher-i prefer stargazing on my balcony with the breeze ruffling my hair,to tv viewing..much more scope for romance and dreamyness.

I sat on my favourite arm chair.

I took control of the remote.

NDTV-"The 9'O Clock news".CHANGE CHANNEL(CC)
MTV-Some crazy song-CC
ZEEMOVIES-Priyanka Chopra in the Sunsilk commercial-ARGHH!!!-CC
HBO-A lot of Africans screaming-I'm about to CC -when I see Leo-Leonardo DiCaprio.

OH...Leo's in the film?...oh yes.."The Blood Diamond",for which he recieved an Oscar Nomination.

NOTE:I usually don't like tear-jerkers, or action or war movies.I couldnt figure out which genre "The Blood Diamond" belonged to-though the title itself sounded ominous.

So I watched..a tale set in the 1990's Sierra Leone ,where children are recruited for war,where everything is chaos,where Solomon Vandy , a fisherman wants to save his son from becoming a child soldier.Danny Archer(Leo) and Vandy(Djimon Hounsou) join forces to find the most precious diamond,that could possibly help them both and change their lives.

I watched-in utter silence.

NOTE:I'm a very sarcastic critic and it takes a lot to satisfy and silence me.

I watched,the perils in Africa.

I watched, the growing friendship between a white man and a black man, where each takes care of the other.

I watched as selfish motives ,however bad they may be, have lead to a beautiful friendship.

I watched ,as father reunites with son,as he explains to the child soldier that he has a loving mother waiting back home for him and he needs to go to school and become a great doctor.

Father beams with Pride and tears glisten in his eyes.

And in mine.

NOTE:I dont cry for movies.ALMOST NEVER.Maybe I did sniff a bit for Titanic and I did weep in "The Pursuit of Happiness"-but that's all.

I watch as Leonardo DiCaprio-the original 'chocolate boy' of Hollywood- gives an amazing performance as Danny Archer-infact ,he is Archer.This is not the sweet,romantic heart-throb Jack Dawson-this is a rugged, wild, bearded, angry Danny Archer.

And to me,Danny is way more appealing than Jack...emotionally.

I find tears rolling down my cheeks as Leo does a marvellous job in the climax.

My admiration for Leo grows a hundredfold-more than just for looks-for amazing, outstanding talent.

Djimon Hounsou is equally amazing and as he stands speechless in the last scene,I find the tears streaming fast....

I'm speechless too..marvelling at this wonderful film.

I watch the entire credits roll by-still in silence-still awed -still stunned by the trauma of child soldiers and the troubles of conflict diamonds.I've heard about them all, of course-but when you see it, it's all together an entirely different experience....an experience that makes you aware...an experience that makes you ask questions...an experience that makes you understand the true impact of 'good films',which are currently almost extinct.

The final title card, which I thought i must share with all:

*In January 2003, forty nations signed "The Kimberley Process" - an effort to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. 
*But illegal diamonds are still finding their way to market. It is up to the consumer to insist that a diamond is conflict-free. 
* Sierra Leone is at peace. 
* There are still 200,000 child soldiers in Africa

And as the dialogue goes in one stirring scene...

It is what they(people) do that makes them good or bad. A moment of love, even in a bad man, can give meaning to a life. None of us knows whose path will lead us to God. 

And finally, another wonderful line..

The Third World is not a world apart... and the witness you will hear today speaks on its behalf. Let us hear the voice of that world. Let us learn from that voice... and let us ignore it no more. 

Do watch this film...and admire the amazing actors and the heart-rending message it gives.......