When Redemption Costs a “Blood Diamond”

“Blood Diamond” was billed as an adventurous thrill ride about a pricey “blood diamond”. The film has Leonardo DiCaprio (He’s been in every good movie for a long time.) and Djimon Hounsou (He's a slave in the movie Gladiator.), both outstanding actors. Many went to see a good action movie. Many came from the film with a better understanding of sacrificial love.

The intense violence portrayed in South Africa was barbaric, where people's hands were chopped off and child soldiers were conscripted to kill innocent villagers with fully automatic weapons. The horrible atrocities portrayed in the movie aren't just dramatizations; parts of Africa are very much like what is shown in the film. Something has to be done about human rights violations in those countries, but that's a different conversation.

In the movie, Solomon Vandy (played by Hounsou) is on a desperate mission to save his son Dia, who has been abducted and forced to serve as a child soldier in a guerrilla army. Dia has been brainwashed to follow his superiors and kill whoever and whenever at their command. This has been accomplished by telling Dia and his co-child soldiers that their parents hate them and that the army is there for them, to provide for them and make them men. Dia has completely rejected Solomon as a father, and has fully taken on the false identity given him by his commander. This does not deter Solomon, however, even when Dia points a gun at his own father. Solomon deeply loves his son, and will stop at nothing, even death, to let his son know this. Solomon’s speech to his son is deeply moving:

Solomom Vandy: "Dia, What are you doing? Dia! Look at me, look at me. What are you doing? You are Dia Vandy, of the proud Mende tribe. You are a good boy who loves soccer and school. Your mother loves you so much. She waits by the fire making plantains, and red palm oil stew with your sister N'Yanda and the new baby. The cows wait for you. And Babu, the wild dog who minds no one but you. I know they made you do bad things, but you are not a bad boy. I am your father who loves you. And you will come home with me and be my son again."

Solomon gives Dia his true identity back, and gives him assurance that he is part of the family and has a safe home where he belongs. Dia has a specific and special place in his family, and it’s a tragic loss if he isn’t a part of it. Dia has always been, and always will be Solomon’s son. Nothing changes that.

This is redemption at its core: We’ve done terrible things not based on our identity but based on lies, and we have a chance to leave those lies for the truth of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. However, to do so takes incredible sacrifice; a sacrifice that proves that we are loved and cherished despite the fact that we have shown hate to our Father.