Che: Part One (2008)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

Peter Buchman (screenplay)
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (memoir "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War")

Release Date:

24 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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.

Plot Keywords:

Fidel Castro | Che Guevara | Illiterate | Surrender | Violence

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Benicio Del Toro	...	Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
Demián Bichir	...	Fidel Castro
Santiago Cabrera	...	Camilo Cienfuegos
Vladimir Cruz	...	Ramiro Valdés Menéndez
Alfredo De Quesada	...	Israel Pardo
Jsu Garcia	...	Jorge Sotús (as Jsu García)
Kahlil Mendez	...	Leonardo Tamayo Núñez (as Kahlil Méndez)
Elvira Mínguez	...	Celia Sánchez
Andres Munar	...	Joel Iglesias Leyva (as Andrés Manuel Munar)
Julia Ormond	...	Lisa Howard
Jorge Perugorría	...	Vilo
Édgar Ramírez	...	Ciro Redondo García (as Edgar Ramírez)
Victor Rasuk	...	Rogelio Acevedo
Othello Rensoli	...	Pombo
Armando Riesco	...	Benigno

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)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

France | Spain | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Spain:7 | UK:15 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Czech Republic:15 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Sweden:11 | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Campeche, Mexico

Company:

Estudios Picasso

Trivia:

The scene where Che takes the cannon from his colleague (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.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the guerrilleros are in the Sierra Maestra, we can hear the coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui) singing in the night. However, this small frog is endemic to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, thus not possible to be heard in Cuba.

Quotes:

Ernesto Che Guevara: [addressing the United Nations in Spanish] Executions? Yes, we have executed. We execute, and we'll continue to execute.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "De wereld draait door: (#4.125)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Basura

Hard, Gritty and To the Point But Not In the Way You Expect

Che: Part One felt very complete and fulfilling. I found myself looking at Ernesto "Che" Guevara as a very well rounded person. Not as an ideological self fulfilling man but as an articulate man with thought out rational decisions as well as a man with many useful talents.

The acting of the cast all around was very good but Benicio Del Toro took the movie by storm but he did this in a very subtle way. His performance displayed how Che's spirit was able to superseded the hardships faced in the Cuban Revolution. It did not display any brutality or recklessness but a devotion to a cause. Del Toro's perforations was that worthy of an Oscar nomination but I don't think Che Guervara cared to much about awards.

The directing by Steven Soderbergh was visually stunning at times with much of the scenes shot in the forest. What kept the movie upbeat though were the scenes of Che in New York giving interviews and addressing the U.N. It added an extra layer to the film allowing you to see another side of Che. The side in which he shows his political and speaking abilities. The writing was very good with the dialog always keeping you engrossed. The music, though not much of it, was very good and stayed within rhythm of the rest of the film.

Overall the film succeeds in showing Che as a well rounded man never developing into oversimplified or unnecessarily complex portrayal of a man. The movie was very accurate and refused to take on a role of being inspiring or Hollywoodish which I enjoyed. The only problem with the film I had was that it seems to have a little too much of a feel of a war film rather than a biopic. Still I highly recommend this film.