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bending_sickleDespite wanting to rip my eyes out during the film - contacts shouldn't be worn that long - I greatly enjoyed Blood Diamond.
Leo DiCaprio is now not only completely redeemed in my eyes thanks to The Departed, where he does a most excelent job, but now has a Stamp of Approval. Meaning his presence in a film improves the chances of my agreeing to watch it. (Alright, I was impressed by him in Catch Me if You Can and seriously impressed in What's Eating Gilbert Grape but, as is happening with Johnny Depp, I'm only just now sitting up and paying attention. And no, never did watch The Basketball Diaries.)
I really enjoyed his accent, though I'm not experienced enough to say whether it was a) accurate or b) Zimbabwean** or South African. I particularly liked his little verbal ticks, like saying "huh" and "ah" at the end of his sentences. Plus, he pronounced "yes" à la German (or Afrikaans) which is "ja". The pidgin English - or whatever it was - he spoke in one scene haggling was fun too.
About language: why, whenever people speak in Tribal Langauge TM, do they speak so haltingly? They never flow their words together and it always sounds like a holy pronouncement, even if all their saying is, "Dude, that's the wrong way." Excepting Dijimon Hounsou*** in BD and the cast of Apocalypto. (This only happened in one brief scene, but it brought flashbacks of horridly done films.)
I was pleasantly surprised to see Arnold Vosloo (aka the mummy in The Mummy) in the film.
There were a few bits at the beginning where I was cringing, and once again I've confirmed my hatred of the machete. As a weapon, it freaks me out so much more than guns. It just seems that much more violent and visceral. (Also, it whacks limbs off with disturbing ease.) I hate machetes.
There was also a scene which I'm willing to bet will be extensively explored in fanfiction. (Hell, even I'm considering it.) The "fade-to-black" bit where Danny and Maddy talk over a milk-carton of palm wine and we're left with their holding hands quite tenderley. Then, the next morning, a little eye-contact (via rear-view mirror) in the car. That's a fanficgold diamond mine.
Another's comments, off of IMBD:
"'Blood Diamond' might fairly be accused of 'bleeding heart syndrome' (more on that in a bit), has a few minor pacing issues and seems unsure with how to end. The ending that they chose extends the film too far, seems forced and is tacked on. The more natural ending is on the mountainside -- you'll know what I mean when you see it." - I quite agree.
"Secondly, although I've had little patience for him before, Leonardo DiCaprio has really impressed me this year. With his performances in 'The Departed' and now 'Blood Diamond,' I think I need to reappraise my own biases against him. I'm becoming a fan." - see what I mean?!?!
Extensive comments from poster's on DiCaprio's accent:
"Leonardo's Accent i think is quite good, i myself am south african and so is the rest of my family who originate from South Africa and Zimbabwe and we all think that Leo did a pretty good job on the accent, at times he does sound slightly like a french accent but most of the time he gets it right and to be fair he only spent a month learning the accent and only ever speaks in his usual american accent, so he has done very well."
"Even critics who have praised his accent admit that it comes and goes throughout the movie."
"Leo sounds very much like a South African. He is speaking with an Afrikaans accent." - Ah, Afrikaans it is then.
"Actually, one need not be from a particular region to tell if someone is doing that region's accent properly--it's more about being familar with and having a good ear for accents." - somewhat true, unless it's your own accent you're judging in others
""You might be a South African native and yet you clearly don't have a good ear for accents", What?
Are you having a laugh? A SOUTH AFRICAN who's lived in the actual country all his life is less equipped to spot a poor SOUTH AFRICAN accent then some American who thinks he has a good ear for accents?"
"I can spot a South African accent miles away. Leo got the accent and RSA speech mannerisms right 99% of the time when speaking English. In fact, Arnold Vosloo, who is a RSA native has a less pronounced accent than Leo. speaking Afrikaans however might be a different story and notice that Arnold Vosloo was the only person on the set having any substantial Afrikaans lines."
"Why don't people put this much effort into talking about the whole issue of the movie instead of Leo's accent?!!! Who cares? It was a great movie, but it was a movie played by actors about REAL LIFE, and real people that are dying every day. If you want to write, write something pro-active that actually makes a difference to people's lives, because all this stuff about the perfecting of accents actually means nothing in the world. I'm sure that the movie-makers' attention was NOT focused on Leo's pronunciation, but on conveying what is actually happening out here in Africa that people don't seem to care about. [...] This kind of movie changes people's points of view. I hope you let it get to you, and disturb you in more ways than someone's accent."
"While I do think that Leo did a great job, whoever coached him and whoever wrote his dialogue should get the real accolades cause a lot of the dialogue used forces the accent out e.g. "lekker", "ya", "bru", etc. All good words for getting the most English of English Saffas using the heavy accent. And let me not forget the infamous "doos" which had the whole cinema in stitches considering it came out a yanks mouth and used in the entirely correct context. The coaching for the his dialogue and mannerisms really had the typical South African down to a tee!"
"Hmmm, I sense a common theme here:
The majority of south africans found his accent to be good.
The majority of Americans found it to be bad.
Time for a logical analysis:
South Africans are from South Africa and speak in a South African accent,
Americans are from the USA, and speak in an American accent.
[...]
So who should we listen to regarding how well Leo did the South African accent, a South African or an American?
I rest my case." - as do I.
* Danny Archer, Blood Diamond
** I like the old name, Rhodesia, better. But then, I prefer "Zaire" to "Democratic Republic of Congo", and think "Tanganyika" has a certain charm. Although, I'll admit, I have read a large number of colonial-times novels set in Africa. You kinda get used to the old names.
*** Who plays a fisherman, not a farmer, as the IMDB summary claims.
Leo DiCaprio is now not only completely redeemed in my eyes thanks to The Departed, where he does a most excelent job, but now has a Stamp of Approval. Meaning his presence in a film improves the chances of my agreeing to watch it. (Alright, I was impressed by him in Catch Me if You Can and seriously impressed in What's Eating Gilbert Grape but, as is happening with Johnny Depp, I'm only just now sitting up and paying attention. And no, never did watch The Basketball Diaries.)
I really enjoyed his accent, though I'm not experienced enough to say whether it was a) accurate or b) Zimbabwean** or South African. I particularly liked his little verbal ticks, like saying "huh" and "ah" at the end of his sentences. Plus, he pronounced "yes" à la German (or Afrikaans) which is "ja". The pidgin English - or whatever it was - he spoke in one scene haggling was fun too.
About language: why, whenever people speak in Tribal Langauge TM, do they speak so haltingly? They never flow their words together and it always sounds like a holy pronouncement, even if all their saying is, "Dude, that's the wrong way." Excepting Dijimon Hounsou*** in BD and the cast of Apocalypto. (This only happened in one brief scene, but it brought flashbacks of horridly done films.)
I was pleasantly surprised to see Arnold Vosloo (aka the mummy in The Mummy) in the film.
There were a few bits at the beginning where I was cringing, and once again I've confirmed my hatred of the machete. As a weapon, it freaks me out so much more than guns. It just seems that much more violent and visceral. (Also, it whacks limbs off with disturbing ease.) I hate machetes.
There was also a scene which I'm willing to bet will be extensively explored in fanfiction. (Hell, even I'm considering it.) The "fade-to-black" bit where Danny and Maddy talk over a milk-carton of palm wine and we're left with their holding hands quite tenderley. Then, the next morning, a little eye-contact (via rear-view mirror) in the car. That's a fanfic
Another's comments, off of IMBD:
"'Blood Diamond' might fairly be accused of 'bleeding heart syndrome' (more on that in a bit), has a few minor pacing issues and seems unsure with how to end. The ending that they chose extends the film too far, seems forced and is tacked on. The more natural ending is on the mountainside -- you'll know what I mean when you see it." - I quite agree.
"Secondly, although I've had little patience for him before, Leonardo DiCaprio has really impressed me this year. With his performances in 'The Departed' and now 'Blood Diamond,' I think I need to reappraise my own biases against him. I'm becoming a fan." - see what I mean?!?!
Extensive comments from poster's on DiCaprio's accent:
"Leonardo's Accent i think is quite good, i myself am south african and so is the rest of my family who originate from South Africa and Zimbabwe and we all think that Leo did a pretty good job on the accent, at times he does sound slightly like a french accent but most of the time he gets it right and to be fair he only spent a month learning the accent and only ever speaks in his usual american accent, so he has done very well."
"Even critics who have praised his accent admit that it comes and goes throughout the movie."
"Leo sounds very much like a South African. He is speaking with an Afrikaans accent." - Ah, Afrikaans it is then.
"Actually, one need not be from a particular region to tell if someone is doing that region's accent properly--it's more about being familar with and having a good ear for accents." - somewhat true, unless it's your own accent you're judging in others
""You might be a South African native and yet you clearly don't have a good ear for accents", What?
Are you having a laugh? A SOUTH AFRICAN who's lived in the actual country all his life is less equipped to spot a poor SOUTH AFRICAN accent then some American who thinks he has a good ear for accents?"
"I can spot a South African accent miles away. Leo got the accent and RSA speech mannerisms right 99% of the time when speaking English. In fact, Arnold Vosloo, who is a RSA native has a less pronounced accent than Leo. speaking Afrikaans however might be a different story and notice that Arnold Vosloo was the only person on the set having any substantial Afrikaans lines."
"Why don't people put this much effort into talking about the whole issue of the movie instead of Leo's accent?!!! Who cares? It was a great movie, but it was a movie played by actors about REAL LIFE, and real people that are dying every day. If you want to write, write something pro-active that actually makes a difference to people's lives, because all this stuff about the perfecting of accents actually means nothing in the world. I'm sure that the movie-makers' attention was NOT focused on Leo's pronunciation, but on conveying what is actually happening out here in Africa that people don't seem to care about. [...] This kind of movie changes people's points of view. I hope you let it get to you, and disturb you in more ways than someone's accent."
"While I do think that Leo did a great job, whoever coached him and whoever wrote his dialogue should get the real accolades cause a lot of the dialogue used forces the accent out e.g. "lekker", "ya", "bru", etc. All good words for getting the most English of English Saffas using the heavy accent. And let me not forget the infamous "doos" which had the whole cinema in stitches considering it came out a yanks mouth and used in the entirely correct context. The coaching for the his dialogue and mannerisms really had the typical South African down to a tee!"
"Hmmm, I sense a common theme here:
The majority of south africans found his accent to be good.
The majority of Americans found it to be bad.
Time for a logical analysis:
South Africans are from South Africa and speak in a South African accent,
Americans are from the USA, and speak in an American accent.
[...]
So who should we listen to regarding how well Leo did the South African accent, a South African or an American?
I rest my case." - as do I.
* Danny Archer, Blood Diamond
** I like the old name, Rhodesia, better. But then, I prefer "Zaire" to "Democratic Republic of Congo", and think "Tanganyika" has a certain charm. Although, I'll admit, I have read a large number of colonial-times novels set in Africa. You kinda get used to the old names.
*** Who plays a fisherman, not a farmer, as the IMDB summary claims.
