Light followed by dark
We spent the day acting as tourist guides under a cloudy sky. This is a beautiful city, and it helps to get out and about from time to time and just enjoy the view. A chance to see the old city with new enthusiasm. In fact, we even went for a ferry ride, where you can see the postcard views that the city is known for. Followed by a funicular ride. All in the same day. A fun day.
And then we came home and watched a rental flick. A dark, foreboding rental flick, one that sucks the energy out of you. The sort of movie that reminds you how we are really, really fortunate to live here in Canada.
We watched Blood Diamond, which might be the best bit of acting (maybe the only bit of acting, says my cynical side) that the DiCaprio has done in his lifetime before the lens. The whole film offers nothing in terms of eye candy (other than the occasional smile from Ms. Connelly). Africa may have lots of green, but the dark side is omnipresent in this case.
So many people, so much violence, so little hope. Blood Diamond hopes to enlighten our social conscience, but if you aren’t dropping your extra cash on baubles for the jewel case, the result will be wasted. A sad reality here. People are making large amounts of money on the backs of people and that’s not a new tendency for the continent. When you finally rent this movie, come prepared; it is not light fare.
