March 13, 2009
There are quite a few biopics around at the moment; from Coco Chanel to Tolstoy, Charles Darwin to Charles Bronson. But surely none of these figures has the sheer romantic pull of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the emblematic face of counter revolution adorning a million student t-shirts, and perhaps the last political hero of the Left. A writer and a politician, a physician and a soldier, the epic life of Che Guevara is made for cinema.
And Steven Soderbergh's Che: Part One is certainly epic. The story of Guevara’s role in the overthrow of the US backed Cuban dictator Baptista, the film is inter-cut with black and white footage of Che’s famous speech to the UN in 1964, and an interview he conducted with an American journalist around the same time. It’s nicely done. We see Che the guerilla fighter with a concern for the literacy of his men, a statesmen telling the world some uncomfortable home truths, and a cigar puffing raconteur who may actually like some make up if he is going to be on TV.
But the film is no eulogy either. Benico’s Che is an almost solemn character, compassionate, quietly authoritative, but willing to follow the lead of Fidel Castro, who seems more charismatic in comparison. Our man Ernesto is straightforward, his sense of mission seeping only gradually through the film. Painstakingly researched by both Soderbergh and Benico, and based on Guevera’s own diaries, the film steps back from the myth and the fanfare. It’s wonderfully understated.
Although for the most part a war film, Part One is far from graphic. There’s lots of shooting but not much horror, and the more harrowing scenes have a moral conclusion. When two of Che’s soldiers are discovered to have raped and murdered a local peasant family, for example, Che gives the two men swigs of rum before, without ceremony, executing them. Che moves on from things quickly. The film has to move on too as there is a lot to tell.
Beautifully shot by Soderbergh throughout, Part One was originally subtitled ‘Argentine’ and shown immediately before the second film (with a short intermission). And although certainly long, there is a feeling that the story hasn’t ended. As Che’s convoy drives towards Havana it is passed by some of his men driving a flash US car that had been stolen from Baptista’s vanquished troops. Che orders them to turn round and return it, exasperated that they are behaving in the same way as those he has fought against. The overthrow of Baptista has been achieved, but the situation is far from complete. Che’s revolutionary goals are a work in progress, and we are left intrigued to see where the story goes from here.
Luckily, the next installment is coming to Oxford soon. I can’t wait.
And Steven Soderbergh's Che: Part One is certainly epic. The story of Guevara’s role in the overthrow of the US backed Cuban dictator Baptista, the film is inter-cut with black and white footage of Che’s famous speech to the UN in 1964, and an interview he conducted with an American journalist around the same time. It’s nicely done. We see Che the guerilla fighter with a concern for the literacy of his men, a statesmen telling the world some uncomfortable home truths, and a cigar puffing raconteur who may actually like some make up if he is going to be on TV.
But the film is no eulogy either. Benico’s Che is an almost solemn character, compassionate, quietly authoritative, but willing to follow the lead of Fidel Castro, who seems more charismatic in comparison. Our man Ernesto is straightforward, his sense of mission seeping only gradually through the film. Painstakingly researched by both Soderbergh and Benico, and based on Guevera’s own diaries, the film steps back from the myth and the fanfare. It’s wonderfully understated.
Although for the most part a war film, Part One is far from graphic. There’s lots of shooting but not much horror, and the more harrowing scenes have a moral conclusion. When two of Che’s soldiers are discovered to have raped and murdered a local peasant family, for example, Che gives the two men swigs of rum before, without ceremony, executing them. Che moves on from things quickly. The film has to move on too as there is a lot to tell.
Beautifully shot by Soderbergh throughout, Part One was originally subtitled ‘Argentine’ and shown immediately before the second film (with a short intermission). And although certainly long, there is a feeling that the story hasn’t ended. As Che’s convoy drives towards Havana it is passed by some of his men driving a flash US car that had been stolen from Baptista’s vanquished troops. Che orders them to turn round and return it, exasperated that they are behaving in the same way as those he has fought against. The overthrow of Baptista has been achieved, but the situation is far from complete. Che’s revolutionary goals are a work in progress, and we are left intrigued to see where the story goes from here.
Luckily, the next installment is coming to Oxford soon. I can’t wait.