Set against the chaotic backdrop of the 1999 Sierra Leone Civil War, a Mende fisherman named Solomon Vandy discovers a rare and priceless pink diamond while working as a forced laborer in the mines. His discovery crosses paths with Danny Archer, a cynical Rhodesian smuggler looking for a ticket out of the continent, and Maddy Bowen, an idealistic American journalist determined to expose the truth behind the conflict diamond trade. Together, the unlikely trio embarks on a dangerous trek through rebel territory to recover the stone that could save Solomon's family and change Danny's destiny.
Information |
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Language |
English Mende Afrikaans |
Country |
United States Germany |
Premiere date |
December 8, 2006 |
Running time |
143 minutes |
Genre |
Drama Thriller Adventure War |
Budget |
$100,000,000 |
Box Office |
$171,720,398 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Edward Zwick |
Produced by |
Paula Weinstein Edward Zwick Marshall Herskovitz Graham King Gillian Gorfil |
Written by |
Charles Leavitt |
Music by |
James Newton Howard |
Cinematography |
Eduardo Serra |
Edited by |
Steven Rosenblum |
Production Co. |
Warner Bros. Pictures Virtual Studios Bedford Falls Productions |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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The Plot
Terror in the Shenge Wetlands
In 1999, the nation of Sierra Leone is engulfed in the chaos of a brutal civil war. The countryside is terrorized by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a rebel faction that finances its war effort through the illicit trade of "blood diamonds." Among the victims of this violence is Solomon Vandy, a Mende fisherman from the village of Shenge. During a violent raid, Solomon is tore away from his family; while his wife and children escape, he is captured and conscripted into forced labor in the diamond fields under the watchful, sadistic eye of Captain Poison, a ruthless RUF warlord.
Under the scorching sun and the threat of execution, Solomon labors in the muddy riverbeds. One morning, amidst the filth, he unearths an enormous, rare pink diamond. Recognizing the stone's life-changing value, he attempts to conceal it. Just as Captain Poison notices Solomon's suspicious behavior and demands the stone, the mining site is besieged by government troops. In the ensuing chaos of gunfire and explosions, Solomon manages to bury the diamond in the soft earth before being apprehended. Both Solomon and Captain Poison are arrested and transported to a crowded prison in Freetown.
The Smuggler and the Fisherman
In the Freetown jail, Solomon crosses paths with Danny Archer, a white Rhodesian gunrunner and former mercenary who was incarcerated after a failed attempt to smuggle diamonds into Liberia. Archer’s stash was intended for Rudolph van de Kaap, a corrupt mining executive in South Africa. The prison dynamic shifts when a wounded Captain Poison spots Solomon and begins shouting about the hidden pink stone, inadvertently alerting Archer to its existence. Seeing an opportunity to escape his life of petty smuggling and leave the conflict-ridden continent forever, Archer arranges for both his and Solomon’s release.
Archer travels briefly to Cape Town to meet his former commander and current employer, Colonel Coetzee, a hardened veteran of the apartheid-era South African Defence Force who now leads a private military company. Coetzee is furious over the lost shipment and demands the pink diamond as compensation. Archer, however, has his own agenda. He returns to Sierra Leone and tracks down Solomon, proposing a desperate alliance: Archer will use his resources to help Solomon locate his missing family, but only if Solomon leads him to the buried diamond.
The Fall of Freetown and the Journey Inland
The situation in the country deteriorates rapidly as RUF insurgents launch a massive offensive, overwhelming Freetown. The city descends into anarchy. Amidst the slaughter, Solomon’s young son, Dia, is captured by the rebels. Along with other abducted boys, Dia is subjected to brutal brainwashing and forced to become a child soldier under the command of a liberated Captain Poison. Meanwhile, Archer and Solomon narrowly survive the invasion of the capital. They fight their way through the burning streets to Lungi, desperate to head inland toward the diamond fields in Kono.
To facilitate their journey, the pair joins forces with Maddy Bowen, an idealistic American journalist determined to expose the link between conflict diamonds and the Western jewelry market. They strike a deal: Maddy will use her press credentials to help them navigate through war zones, and in exchange, Archer promises to provide her with irrefutable evidence of the illicit diamond trade, including names and accounts. The trio embarks on a harrowing trek through the bush, dodging rebel patrols and witnessing the devastation of the war, eventually arriving in the Kono district. There, Colonel Coetzee and his private army, contracted by the desperate Sierra Leone government, are preparing a massive counter-offensive to retake the mines.
The Assault on the Mining Camp
While Maddy secures her safety and smuggles her preliminary story out, Archer and Solomon proceed alone into the heart of the rebel territory. They infiltrate the perimeter of Captain Poison’s encampment, where Solomon is devastated to find his son. Dia, now a hardened soldier holding an AK-47, refuses to acknowledge his father, having been indoctrinated to view the RUF as his only family. Realizing they cannot extract Dia without support, Archer radios the camp's coordinates to Colonel Coetzee.
Coetzee launches a devastating combined air and ground assault. An attack helicopter rains fire upon the rebel garrison while mercenaries storm the perimeter. In the confusion of the battle, Solomon confronts Captain Poison. Fueled by the rage of a father protecting his child, Solomon overpowers the warlord and beats him to death with a shovel. The mercenaries quickly overwhelm the remaining RUF defenders, securing the area.
Betrayal and Reconciliation
With the camp under control, Colonel Coetzee turns on his former ally. He holds Solomon at gunpoint, demanding the diamond. Archer, realizing that Coetzee intends to kill them both once the stone is recovered, makes a split-second decision. He draws his weapon and kills Coetzee and his immediate guards, but not before sustaining a mortal wound in his chest. The standoff shifts as Dia, confused and traumatized, holds his gun on Archer and Solomon.
Solomon ignores the weapon and walks slowly toward his son, speaking to him with gentle authority. He reminds Dia of his identity, his mother, and his life before the war. Slowly, the brainwashing cracks, and Dia lowers his weapon, collapsing into his father’s arms in a tearful reunion. However, their safety is fleeting; the vengeful remnants of Coetzee’s mercenary force are closing in on their position.
The Final Call
Archer, Solomon, and Dia flee up the rocky terrain toward an extraction point where Archer’s pilot is waiting. As they climb, Archer’s breathing becomes labored, and he collapses, revealing he is bleeding out from a lung wound. Realizing he can go no further, Archer hands the pink diamond to Solomon. He entrusts the stone to the fisherman, telling him to use it to bargain for his family's safety and future. He urges Solomon to take Dia and run to the pilot.
Alone on the mountain ridge, Archer makes a final phone call to Maddy via satellite phone. With his vision fading, he gives her permission to publish the full story, exposing the trade and Van de Kaap’s involvement. He shares a final, poignant farewell with her. As Solomon and Dia board the plane to safety, Danny Archer looks out over the vast, beautiful African landscape. He grabs a handful of the red earth, his blood mixing with the soil, and dies peacefully as the sun sets.
London and the Kimberley Process
Solomon arrives in London, navigating a world starkly different from the one he left. He meets with representatives of Van de Kaap in a high-stakes exchange orchestrated with Maddy's help. Solomon trades the pink diamond for a substantial sum of money and, most importantly, the safe transport and reunion of his entire family. As the transaction takes place, Maddy covertly photographs the deal from a distance, capturing the evidence she needs to complete her exposé.
Maddy publishes her article, detailing the criminal actions of Van de Kaap and the bloody cost of the diamond trade. The scandal rocks the industry. Later, Solomon appears as a guest speaker at a conference on "blood diamonds" in Kimberley, South Africa. As he takes the stage, he is met with a standing ovation, standing as a symbol of survival and truth. The film concludes with text stating that over 40 countries signed the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, though the ultimate responsibility remains with the consumer to ensure their purchases are conflict-free.
