Che (2008)
Che (USA) Directed by Stephen Soderbergh Written by Peter Buchanan; Benjamin A. Van der Deer Starring Benecio Del Toro; Demian Bichir; Catalina Sandino Moreno; Franka Potente; Victor Rasuc; Rene Lavan; Edgar Ramirez; Rodrigo Santoro; Yul Vasquez Lou Diamond Phillips; Matt Damon; Julia Ormond
At 271 minutes, Che is divided into two films, but director Steven Soderbergh ’s intent was for them to be seen together. Soderbergh again acts as his own cinematographer (using psuedonym Peter Andrews), further demonstrating why he is among the world’s best visual filmmakers. Che stars Benecio Del Toro as the titular Argentinian Dr. Ernesto Che Guevera, who gives a startlingly realistic, singular performance, one that rivals Sean Penn’s recent turn as Harvey Milk in its understated ease. The films are based on two books by Che - Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War and A Bolivian Diary (biographer John Henderson served as consultant). The overall pacing is deliberate, and Soderbergh uses a hand-held verite style to great effect, giving us a real sense of immediacy. Part One (the stronger and more cohesive of the two) finds the asthmatic Che in Mexico, and details his introductory meeting with Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir) and their 1956 boat ride to Cuba with a tiny initial rebel force totaling 80. From there, we see Che’s participation in the overthrow of U.S. backed Fulgencio Batista. The training and battle scenes are juxtaposed with artfully done black and white recreated footage of Che’s later visit to the U.N. in New York City in 1964. Part 2 is entirely focused on Che’s resignation from the Cuban government and his time in Bolivia leading the revolution there. Despite the run time, Soderbergh opted for an approach that produced anything but a sweeping biopic - instead, we are given a story that wavers between linear and non-linear modes, leaving out information and assuming an audiences familiarity with the story of Che’s early life (see Motorcycle Diaries). Unfortunately, omitted too is key information about Che’s post-revolution activities in Cuba, including his participation in torture, beatings, and El Paredon, the firing squads that executed countless Cuban citizens. We also skip Che’s time following his resignation and covert departure from Cuba that included failures in the African Congo and Guatemala. Che is brilliantly subtle, and contains wonderfully naturalistic performances, and top-notch cinematography, and while the pace and length is a challenge the viewing is rewarding. Still, responsibility for the portrait (including what is not there) falls on the filmmaker and is a major factor in how the end product will ultimately be judged. After a complicated situation with Blockbuster involving DVD distribution was finally resolved, Che is now available on DVD. Perhaps more people will get a chance to see it than did so at the theaters where the film was never widely released.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
HI C.G.
” Soon, I don’t know when but soon we will confront the enemy. Our contact with the outside world will be limited. Some of us will die and it is sad to see your comrades die because you can’t help them with your limited resources. Food will be scarce.Sometimes we won’t have anythilng to eat. And if all of that weren’t enough we will have to endure the harsh weather. By the end we will have become human waste. That’s all I can promise you. Think it over. You still have time to go home. Afterwards it will be too late.
I wouild like to repeat what I said to Monje. Me? I am already here. They would have to kill me to get me out of here. I will be at the side of those who stay until victory.”
January 12th, 2010 at 4:45 am
Hi Travis,
Thanks for the contribution. I know you love a good quote. I thought Che did a nice job of weaving some of the grand pronouncements in a way that made them feel natural as opposed to tacked on for the sake of delivering information. Be interested to hear your thoughtsd on the film.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
C.G.,
Che is a pop icon. He seems to get a lotta love for a communist revolutionary and I was curious about the topic and thought the movie might help to educate me a little bit.
I thought the acting was great and I thought the filming etc was great. I would have liked to have been provided a little more insight into the history behind South and Central America’s economic plight (eg fluctuating between dictatorships and communism) but I am not sure it would have worked for what the movie was meant to do.
It seems a shame that a capitalist society has never thrivied in that region…..
Thanks and POWER TO THE PEOPLE,
Travis
January 24th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Travis,
Yes, you’re right, the film definitely could’ve benefitted from more information about the actual lives of the people and the existing political and social conditions under which the revolution in Cuba took place… and yes, Che definitely achieved some sort of mythical status that is hard to quantify or account for exactly, although, like most who enjoy similar status, it’s usually a combo of the force of their image/timing of their achievements - for whatever reason these people seem to capture some element of the zeitgeist of the time and are forever linked to what that represents, although there can be a kind of evolving iconography that changes somewhat in the years that follow as well - a strange phenomona that involves long dead famous people being more “hot” than at other times… for me, the set up the government is somewhat inconsequential. What’s more important is that the average citizenry is treated with dignity and have the ability to live in humane conditions. Capitalist societies clearly has myriad issues, and yet the utopic promise of many communist and/or socialist governments are perhaps at least as jaded and self-interested from the top down. To paraphrase slightly, absolute power in any form corrupts. CG