Plot Summary
For anyone who has dropped thousands on bling without giving so much as a second though as to where their flashy jewelry came from, the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Paul Wall, and Tego Calderon take a trip to war-torn Sierra Leone to learn the true cost of materialistic excess. In the 1980s diamond jewelry became a stable of hip-hop culture, eventually evolving into a billion dollar industry. But what of the endless suffering endured by the miners, amputees, and child soldiers who have given life and limb for the "blood diamonds" that shimmer so lustrously under the brilliant lights which illuminate the stage?
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Customer Reviews
Lacks focus and the artists are frustrating to watch.
This movie mostly made me angry to watch. Not because of the continuing plight of the Sierra Leone people, which was made more high-profile in movies like Blood Diamond. But rather, because of the artists' reactions to it are frustrating. I think the heart of the movie is in the right place, but the movie lacks focus and should have really tried to get more socially conscious or - at least - intellectually curious hip-hop artists on the project instead. Is the movie about diamonds? Is it about hip-hop's effects in Africa? Is it about child soldiering? Is it about poverty? The movie tries to make moves with so many themes that none of them gain any traction. And the artists. The artists. The entourage that travels to Sierra Leone all have some individual moments of clarity, but overall, they mostly look like they are sitting through third period english.
First and foremost, I wish the director had the good sense not to devote so much screen time to Raekwon. Ninety percent of what comes out of Raekwon's mouth either completely misses the point or frankly, sounds plain ignorant. It's sad because he is a truly credible hip-hop artist who has been in the business for a long time. But he lumbers through the tours guided by widely-touted author and former child soldier Ishmael Beah looking like he has a hangover, wearing t-shirts with his own face on them as well as an opulent diamond chain he clearly doesn't have the common sense to remove. He wakes up in time to spit a misdirected tirade at a diamond miner that totally - again - misses the point, oversimplifies the issues at play, and reflects the fact that he hasn't listened very much to what has been said. He continually spits some equally cliche, forced, and oversimplified sentiment in every other situation that could be pregnant with opportunities to say something meaningful, including a home for abused women and amputees from the war. Raekwon only brightens long enough to giddily pop off about how great he was treated when he and the entourage went out to a club in Freetown. Tego gives us a few much-needed breaks from this - he has several heartfelt, earnest moments of clarity during the trip. But he too often looks like he's sleeping through important moments, such as when Ishmael recounts his harrowing story. Paul Wall is another needed respite; he seems to be (appropriately) absorbing it all without saying too much and what he does choose to say makes sense and shows the sobering effect the trip has on him. In fact, the addition of Paul's jeweler to the "entourage" initially seems like a great idea. But when the group is on site at a diamond mine, the Lilliputian jeweler is handed a rough diamond that he declares to be worth $30-40; he laments the retail markup but then when is offered the chance to buy it right there on the spot, he and Wall sheepishly sidestep, saying it needs to be "cut and polished" before they would purchase it.
And that's the big-picture failure of the movie. There is not a lot of journey and action from the artists. They're sad. The situation after the war makes them sad. People are poor. That's sad. People got killed for diamonds. That's sad. But no where in the movie do any of the artists have a revelation and say "hey - here's a great idea for what I am going to do about this!" After the first 40 minutes, we already knew it wasn't going to come from Raekwon. But Paul Wall is a self-declared jeweler who could use that knowledge to do something - anything - including something as basic as a pledge to come back and buy diamonds from the source from now on. And with all of the hip-hop talent in this entourage and the movie's continuous, even egregious references to how much kids and Sierra Leonean hip-hop artists worship and emulate American hip-hop artists, you'd think one of them would plug in the light bulb and figure out a way to mentor this talent or at least get a community program going that would encourage hip-hop and give back to the country. But we get nada, nothing. They roll the credits to scenes of the artists waving to people and trying on clothes in local shops.
In sum - great idea for a documentary with great issues and great possibilities. Not well-directed or cast.
A huge eye opener
this movie will change the way you view the shiny little rocks on yourselves. at times, this movie gets a little dry, but the message is very important. not all diamonds come from the region they visit, but it makes you think. worth you time and money, give it a shot.
Bling
just rent
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