IMDb > Che: Part One (2008)
Che: Part One
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Che: Part One (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 18 | slideshow) Videos (see all 8)
Che: Part One (2008) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   8,884 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Peter Buchman (screenplay)
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (memoir "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War")
Contact:
View company contact information for Che: Part One on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 January 2009 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(54 articles)
User Comments:
Guerrilla struggles that work, and don't more (50 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Argentine (International: English title) (alternative title) (USA) (working title)
Che - 1ère partie - L'Argentin (France)
Che, el argentino (Spain: Castilian title)
more
Runtime:
134 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The scene where Che takes the bazooka from his fellow soldier (who keeps missing) and blows up the barracks with his first shot, was meant to show Che miss once then hit the target on his second attempt, but the crew were losing light so they had him get it in one. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The film leads the viewer to believe that Guevara was hired as a mercenary and a combatant. In actuality, he was hired as a medic. It wasn't until he was seen running into battles that he became a combatant. more
Quotes:
[upon hearing that Batista has fled Cuba]
Ernesto Che Guevara: Nobody is going home on leave. We have only won the war. The revolution has just begun.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Basura more

FAQ

Where was Part 1 shot?
Does this movie explain Che's politics or how he adopted them?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
more
44 out of 59 people found the following comment useful.
Guerrilla struggles that work, and don't, 29 September 2008
8/10
Author: Chris Knipp from Berkeley, California

Ironically the most talked-about American film in the 2008 New York Film Festival is 98% in Spanish. The extra-long film's controversy began at the Cannes Festival. There were love-hate notices, and considerable doubts about commercial prospects. As consolation the star, Benicio Del Toro, got the Best Actor award there. I'm talking about Steven Soderbergh's 'Che,' of course. That's the name it's going by in this version, shown in New York as at Cannes in two 2-hour-plus segments without opening title or end credits. 'Che' is certainly appropriate since Ernesto "Che" Guevara is in almost every scene. Del Toro is impressive, hanging in reliably through thick and thin, from days of glorious victory in part one to months of humiliating defeat in part two, appealing and simpatico in all his varied manifestations, even disguised as a bald graying man to sneak into Bolivia. It's a terrific performance; one wishes it had a better setting.

If you are patient enough to sit through the over four hours, with an intermission between the two sections, there are rewards. There's an authentic feel throughout--fortunately Soderbergh made the decision to film in Spanish (though some of the actors, oddly enough in the English segments especially, are wooden). You get a good outline of what guerrilla warfare, Che style, was like: the teaching, the recruitment of campesinos, the morality, the discipline, the hardship, and the fighting--as well as Che's gradual morphing from company doctor to full-fledged military leader. Use of a new 9-pound 35 mm-quality RED "digital high performance cine camera" that just became available in time for filming enabled DP Peter Andrews and his crew to produce images that are a bit cold, but at times still sing, and are always sharp and smooth.

The film is in two parts--Soderbergh is calling them two "films," and the plan is to release them commercially as such. First is The Argentine, depicting Che's leadership in jungle and town fighting that led up to the fall of Havana in the late 50's, and the second is Guerrilla, and concerns Che's failed effort nearly a decade later in Bolivia to spearhead a revolution, a fruitful mission that led to Guevara's capture and execution in 1967. The second part was to have been the original film and was written first and, I think, shot first. Producer Laura Bickford says that part two is more of a thriller, while part one is more of an action film with big battle scenes. Yes, but both parts have a lot in common--too much--since both spend a large part of their time following the guerrillas through rough country. Guerrilla an unmitigated downer since the Bolivian revolt was doomed from the start. The group of Cubans who tried to lead it didn't get a friendly reception from the Bolivian campesinos, who suspected foreigners, and thought of the Cuban communists as godless rapists. There is a third part, a kind of celebratory black and white interval made up of Che's speech at the United Nations in 1964 and interviews with him at that time, but that is inter-cut in the first segment. The first part also has Fidel and is considerably more upbeat, leading as it does to the victory in Santa Clara in 1959 that led to the fall of the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba.

During 'Guerilla' I kept thinking how this could indeed work as a quality European-style miniseries, which might begin with a shortened version of Walter Salles's 'Motorcycle Diaries' and go on to take us to Guevara's fateful meeting with Fidel in Mexico and enlistment in the 26th of July Movement. There could be much more about his extensive travels and diplomatic missions. This is far from a complete picture of the man, his childhood interest in chess, his lifelong interest in poetry, the books he wrote; even his international fame is only touched on. And what about his harsh, cruel side? Really what Soderbergh is most interested in isn't Che, but revolution, and guerrilla warfare. The lasting impression that the 4+ hours leave is of slogging through woods and jungle with wounded and sick men and women and idealistic dedication to a the cause of ending the tyranny of the rich. Someone mentioned being reminded of Terrence Malick's 'The Tin Red Line,' and yes, the meandering, episodic battle approach is similar; but 'The Thin Red Line' has stronger characters (hardly anybody emerges forcefully besides Che), and it's a really good film. This is an impressive, but unfinished and ill-fated, effort.

This 8-years-gestating, heavily researched labor of love (how many more Ocean's must come to pay for it?) is a vanity project, too long for a regular theatrical release and too short for a miniseries. Radical editing--or major expansion--would have made it into something more successful, and as it is it's a long slog, especially in the second half.

It's clear that this slogging could have been trimmed down, though it's not so clear what form the resulting film would have taken--but with a little bit of luck it might have been quite a good one.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (50 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Che: Part One (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
whats with this part 1 and 2? o-ricsi
The Top 10 Best Box Office Bombs of the Decade imaintdan
Spanish Voiceovers? amcorrea-1
Why is che so idolised? luvbulmers01
Argentinian accent rui-franco
Not really worth seeing if you want to know more about Che Guevara deviant-13
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Che: Part Two Che! La battaglia di Algeri Diarios de motocicleta Slaughterhouse-Five
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Biography section IMDb France section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.