Oulu’s plaza is huge and impressive. The complex has huge glass windows everywhere, reminiscent of the buildings at Potsdammer Platz in Berlin. Of course a good movie theater experience should have popcorn, but seldom do you see a place that allows you to choose the flavor yourself from ‘Sour cream and onion,’ ‘Jalapenos,’ or ‘Cheese and garlic.’ If I had known what movie we had chosen, we would have eaten all the popcorn during the advertisements. 

 

“Blood Diamond” – the title should have warned us. But we relaxed into the comfy seats, in which I fit completely although I am 1,70m. Not for long. The movie came out firing and shocked all the way through. When my sister and I sometimes go window shopping for engagement rings, she always points at the big diamonds and laughingly asks, "would he mind buying me that one?" Before this film I found this funny, a cute reference to our never being able to afford diamonds.

Blood Diamond makes me want to donate all my money to UNICEF or the World Food Program.  Its subject matter is the war in some African countries, the beauty of Africa's nature, and that although people are different we fight for the same reason: a ticket out the emergency exit.

The story goes an African family gets separated during clan squabbles, and the father removed to dig for diamonds. He finds a huge diamond and is able to hide it near the digging area. The boss sees the stone, but doesn’t quite get the chance to take it from the father. Before long rumor lands him in the middle of attention, and attracts a diamond smuggler, Leonardo diCaprio no less. Little baby face Romeo has become quite a man. While his voice is hardly cliché smuggler, little Jack Dawson has unquestionably grown up.

Matters worsen: it’s all very disturbing, especially the war scenes, those kids’ absent look while shooting someone. Leaving a brand new theater with all those glass windows, I thought I’ve just paid 10 bucks for a movie, for entertainment.

That’s how it goes. You watch this movie. You are disturbed. You go home, have tea, play with the cat, and before you go to bed, think "thank God I am not caught up in that!" And then we get up the next day angry that snow has fallen and we have to scratch it from the windows of our car and we know we will be late for work.