Also opening this week is The Empire in Africa, a documentary that hopes to piggyback Blood Diamond into the limelight. Directed by Philippe Diaz, this has to be the most painful experience I've ever had watching a movie, with footage of mutilated corpses, men being shot at point-blank range and children being tortured. With no Hollywood stars in sight, the documentary purports to tell us everything Blood Diamond doesn't - the long, sordid history of Sierra Leone's civil war. But I couldn't begin to follow Diaz's argument. He appears to believe that the rebels have gotten a bum rap in the international press, and maybe they have. But how are we supposed to render a judgment while standing knee-deep in blood?
The Empire in Africa
A documentary hoping to piggyback "Blood Diamond"
