MOVIE TITLE: Blood Diamond

RATING: ★★★★★ (Must see at all cost)

RUNNING TIME: 143 mins. (This can be found on the DVD's cover).

BONUS FEATURES: Interview with director, movie trailer of Ocean's 13 and subtitles in other languages.

WHO'S IN IT: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou and Jennifer Connolley.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Set in 1999 Sierra Leone, which is a country divided by civil war, the story has at its heart a rare pink diamond. The diamond was discovered by Solomon Nandy (Honsou), a Mende fisherman, whilehe is a captive worker on a rebel diamond mine.

By fate, he and Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is a mercenary turned smuggler, meet because Archer is interested in the diamond he is interested in the diamond, he has to strike a deal with Nandy, whose son, Dia (Kagiso Kuypers), has been conscripted as a child soldier by the RUF. Dia is brainwashed and called 'See Me No More', as opposed to his real name, because he is now 'fighting for a cause' and his parents 'no longer love him'. Archer and Nandy, with the help of Maddy Bowen (Conolley) locate the rest of Nandy's family in Guinea. But they must return to Sierra Leone to recover both the diamond and Dia.

The story takes an interesting turn when Nandy finally finds Dia, who does not remember him initially. Dia is told to watch over his father as the rebel leaders try to find out where the diamond is buried. In the end, other parties are also interested in the diamond, which makes the end a bloody one.

LONG STORY SHORT: It's a blend of reality, tragedy and a father's love for his son, which makes for an emotional experience (hey, you may just find yourself fighting back the tears). It is a commentary about conflict diamonds, which should not be dismissed as just pure fiction conjured up by Hollywood.

The movie falls into the same vein as Lord of War, which also speaks about civil wars in Africa. The script is complete for the most part, as there are answers to most of the questions that would pop up in a viewer's mind.

There is, however, one unanswered question at the end and that is whethe Danny Archer dies from a wound received in the final conflict or is executed by his fellow mercenaries. However, that bit is best left up to your imagination.

THE REEL LOW DOWN: If you liked Lord of War, you will like this one.