Blood Diamond

7.5/10. Saw this last Saturday afternoon at the Alhambra in Bern.

For months, I was certain that I was never going to see this movie, neither in a theater nor on DVD. Then I started to hear that in addition to having a "message" of some kind, it also featured lots of breathtaking action. And since it was playing at the Alhambra -- Bern's best theater for big-screen action -- I decided to give Blood Diamond a chance.

Turns out it's pretty good. Yes, there are moments when the movie stops so that people can make make painfully unsubtle points, and as a result the movie is too long. But the three leads are excellent, their characters are well-drawn, and there's real chemistry between them. And the action, rather than being cathartic, is chaotic and brutal, and thus helps the movie make its point better than a dozen speeches.

Also, if you thought the movie was focused on the diamond trade, think again. Diamonds move the plot forward, but stronger and more moving is the movie's depiction of the indoctrination of children into Africa's wars. While the diamond problem has largely been dealt with, the problem of child soldiers has not, which the movie makes clear in its closing crawl.