Che (The Criterion Collection)
by Steven Soderbergh
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Actor: Benicio Del Toro, Franklin Díaz, Julia Ormond, Oscar Isaac, Pablo GuevaraDirector: Steven Soderbergh
Brand: Image Entertainment
Producer: Benicio Del Toro
Producer: Alvaro Longoria
Producer: Anna Roth
Producer: Belén Atienza
Writer: Benjamin A. van der Veen
Writer: Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
Writer: Peter Buchman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 261 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-01-19
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Che (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: A Bold Experiment, A Fascinating Film.
Summary: 5 Stars
Steven Soderbergh's "Che" is one of those rare films where you'll either like it or hate it. It is not a conventional biography, it isn't even a conventional movie. Soderbergh is not interested in presenting a loud, thundering film about the icon Che Guevara, but instead he wants to provide an almost scientific analysis of a man driven by an idea and the campaigns he engaged in. Like Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette," this isn't a movie interested in bold political statements, it is simply trying to present events as they are known to have happened. It doesn't matter much whether you're a right-winger or a leftist, Soderbergh doesn't champion or attack Che's political views or goals, he simply presents a man's actions.
Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, 21 Grams) plays Guevara with an uncanny resemblance and a powerful presence. We meet him in Mexico City in the 1950s where he meets a group of Cuban exiles plotting the overthrow of the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. It is here that Guevara meets Fidel Castro (played by Mexican actor Demian Bichir) who lectures him on the dire conditions for Cuba's poor and convinces him to join the revolutionary expedition sailing back to the island on the famous Granma boat. Soderbergh intercuts the jungle campaign in Cuba with black and white passages capturing Guevara's 1964 visit to the UN General Assembly where he delivered one of the most blistering anti-colonial speeches of the era. This sections feel large in scope while the Cuban scenes feel very intimate as Guevara trains guerrillas, engages in firefights with Batista's troops and brings medical services to poor villages where many people had never seen a doctor before in their lives. Soderbergh captures everything with a great air of authenticity in the accents, settings, locations and anyone who has visited Cuba or the Caribbean will immediately recognize the unique sense of humor expressed by the characters. It is in this first half where we see Che taste victory as the Cuban Revolution spreads and culminates in the battle of Santa Clara. Batista falls and the experience convinces Che of the legitimacy of armed struggle. The second half of the film follows Che into Bolivia, a more arid landscape with an indigenous majority population living under another brutal regime. The Bolivia episode is the other side of the coin from the Cuban Revolution, here the struggle to spread a doctrine of armed revolution runs into various roadblocks due to many conditions including culture clashes, inter-clashes within leftist circles and the heavy involvement of the CIA in tracking down Che's expedition. The Bolivia episode feels more fast-paced than Cuba, but also features a stunning attention to detail. The episode ends with Che's execution at the hands of the Bolivian army and CIA, and in its somber tone, we can still see how the man transformed into legend.
"Che" is first and foremost a document, an attempt by Soderbergh to chronicle in as much detail and realism as possible the EXPERIENCE of being a guerrilla in the field, the long hours of debate and boredom punctuated by moments of violence and danger. Like "The Battle Of Algiers" the film feels almost like a documentary instead of as a dramatic narrative. Those looking for a more romantic, adventurous trip should stick with Walter Salles' excellent "The Motorcycle Diaries" about Guevara's journey through Latin America as a young medical student. Soderbergh's film is more challenging because it doesn't provide easy answers or plot points, it forces the viewers to think for themselves and form their own opinions and conclusions. The film doesn't make bold statements about the Cuban Revolution or socialist politics, and yet it forces the audience to ponder political theories and history more than the average, more straight forward biographical movie. "Che" provides a more challenging discussion about revolutionary politics than "Braveheart," or Andy Garcia's right-wing "The Lost City" which provided a more spoon-fed, almost tabloid take on the Cuban Revolution and its participants. Does this mean the film is simply too academic? It depends on what you're looking for. Che Guevara is one of those historical characters that has become such an icon or symbol that many people wear the t-shirt without ever bothering to read anything about the man, this goes for both those who admire him and those who hate him. Even those who are just used to seeing Fidel Castro as an evening news item waving at crowds in his green fatigues will see the icon stripped down to a guerrilla commander trying to strategize and reconcile various parties, groups and opinions about how to carry out a revolutionary change in government. One value of the script by Peter Buchman is that he doesn't reduce these men to just historical titans spewing grand speeches, we instead see the bare bones of politics and how behind the flashy posters and berets, Guevara and Castro were also debating the hows and whens of everything from land reform to foreign policy.
The look of the film is toned down and yet very lush. Soderbergh used the Red One camera for both episodes of "Che" and the result is very impressive, a visual clarity with some of the same grain and depth as film. There are grand vistas in the Cuba chapter, with lush sequences in beautiful jungle terrains. The Bolivia section looks arid and cold, with rich shadows evoking a campaign headed for a tragic end. It was a wise choice to film the UN sequences in black and white film stock, they feel incredibly authentic.
Without a doubt "Che" features the best performance ever delivered by Benicio Del Toro who fully embodies the character, the fact that he did not recieve an Oscar nomination is a complete travesty. He brilliantly changes looks, physique and switches from a man pumped with the idealism of a born rebel to a man struggling in a terrain that is not bending to his will. He never overplays Guevara and brings a real human dimension to a role which could so easily be overdone. Demian Bichir is impressive as Castro, masterfully capturing the famous accent, the mannerisms and yes, the cigar stance.
"Che" is the kind of bold experiment many directors would be afraid of attempting. It breaks many rules and doesn't bow to the demands of cheap commercialism, and yet is always fascinating. This isn't the kind of movie to watch in order to avoid reading the biography, instead it is the kind of movie that might force you to go out and seek further reading on the man. Both sections come here with brilliant commentary tracks by journalist Jon Lee Anderson, author of the great biography "Che: A Revolutionary Life." Anderson provides excellent analysis and historical information that adds to the fascination of the movie, for those who find it hard to grasp the movie at first, the commentary tracks are of great help. In the DVD extra features Soderbergh laments that maybe the time for a movie like "Che" has already passed because nobody actually DISCUSSES films anymore, people appear to simply seek escapism and nothing more. This is certainly not a film for "Avatar" fans, or at least for those who ONLY like movies in that vein, but for the curious with an eye for excruciating detail, "Che" is an experiment worth checking out.
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