Vernon Boothe, Contributor

Leonardo DiCaprio (left) and Djimon Hounsou make a run for it in 'Blood Diamond'. - Contributed

Hotel Rwanda, Tears of the Sun, Sometimes in April and now Blood Diamond all have one familiar theme, the tragedy that is Africa.

Written by Charles Leavitt and directed by Edward Zwick, Blood Diamond is set against the bloody backdrop of Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war and explores the ties between the diamond merchants in the west and the bloodletting in west Africa.

Leonardo DiCaprio shows that his performance in The Departed was no fluke and seems to be remaking himself as a bonafide action star as he plays the role of Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler and former mercenary who befriends local fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou).

Powerful performance

Hounsou turns in a powerful performance as a man desperately trying to find his family, torn apart by war. He also holds a secret that makes him invaluable to Archer - the hiding place of a large pink diamond he discovered while working in forced labour in the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) mining camps.

As Danny and Solomon go careening through the chaos that is Sierra Leone, they are joined by Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an idealistic journalist trying to break the story of the trade in conflict diamonds.

The sexual tension between her and Danny is palpable and the emotional attachment and antagonism between them grows as the movie continues.

It is a world where people do anything to get what they want. Danny will do anything to get his hands on the diamond, Maddy will do anything to get her story and Solomon will do anything to find his family. Blood Diamond is Africa's story and as they say in the movie, T.I.A. (This Is Africa).