What elevates the hiphop-and-diamonds doc Bling: A Planet
Rock from novelty to essential viewing is danger—not
potential-for-death danger, which is there, but
potential-for-crash-and-burn-failure danger. Watching the film navigate
the straits between exposé and exploitation is thrilling, its
ultimate success more rewarding thanks to the ever-present possibility
that it’ll careen into self-parody.
Bling‘s conceit is brilliant. It’s also fraught with
logistical hurdles: transpose three diamond-encrusted hiphop
stars from North America to Sierra Leone, capital of West Africa’s
diamond trade. The three men—Raekwon (“The Chef”) of Wu-Tang
Clan, rapper/jeweler-to-the-rap-world Paul Wall, and Puerto Rican
reggaeton godfather Tego Calderon—embody narcissism and
conspicuous consumption. First interviewed in their native land, the
men explain their love for diamonds, the status they afford, the
American dream they represent. Each beams with jewels, braggadocio,
and, it must be said, ignorance—there’s no way they can
understand the extent of their impact on lives 10,000 miles away.
Neither can the viewer. When the film touches down in Africa, a
story of transformation begins, as palpable as the poverty of the
people of Sierra Leone. Writer-director Raquel Cepeda is unyielding,
embargoing the entourages and luxuries the
rappers are
accustomed to, herding them from village to shelter to mine to
school, demanding their participation. Which at times comes
grudgingly—Raekwon refuses to get off the tour bus at a refugee
camp for victims of amputations (which were doled out mercilessly by
both rebels and government forces during Sierra Leone’s 10-year civil
war). The camera closes in, and his reticence turns poignant: “My heart
is where it’s supposed to be, for the people and all that, but I just
don’t wanna see them like that.”
He eventually capitulates—and as the film progresses, so do
each of his costars. Hiphop machismo is slowly replaced by stoic
compassion. There’s every opportunity for Bling to devolve
into poverty porn or a backhanded exposé of hiphop’s
detachment from the real world, but what emerges instead is a portrait
of reluctant understanding. Word is after the shoot Wall switched to an
ethical diamond importer, Calderon stopped wearing diamonds altogether,
and Wu-Tang are organizing a benefit tour of Africa. 
New to DVD this week: Ratatouille (Walt Disney Video,
$29.99), Pixar Short Films Collection (Walt Disney Video,
$29.99), I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (Strand Releasing,
$27.99).