Capo
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Posts: 7,847
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Post by Capo on Apr 7, 2007 13:14:43 GMT
Blood Diamond Edward Zwick 2006 USA A diamond smuggler in war-torn Sierra Leone pursues a jewel buried by a native. Another chapter in Zwick's "filmmaking by numbers" oeuvre, in which a conventional narrative moves fast enough to keep you watching, but goes on for far too long. He is at least an effective craftsman as regards environment: not in the geographical sense (though we're reminded throughout of the African setting), but in the very tense, war-torn environment on one hand, and the double-crossing and dishonesty on a wider scale on the other. There is ample opportunity for visual flair, but this is only evident, not surprisingly, in throwaway establishing shots... and because the emphasis is clearly on character and performances (which is fair enough), the final pre-credits title cards, which reveal that more than 200,000 child soldiers are still in Africa, seem misplaced and undeserving.
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