Che: Part Two (2008)

In 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Peter Buchman (screenplay), Benjamin A. van der Veen (screenplay)

Stars:

Demián Bichir, Rodrigo Santoro, Benicio Del Toro

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Demián Bichir	...	Fidel Castro (as Demian Bichir)
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Raúl Castro
Benicio Del Toro	...	Ernesto Che Guevara
Catalina Sandino Moreno	...	Aleida March
María D. Sosa	...	Aleidita
Raúl Beltrán	...	Bolivian Customs Agent #1
Raúl 'Pitín' Gómez	...	Bolivian Customs Agent #2
Paty M. Bellott	...	Woman at Airport
Othello Rensoli	...	Pombo (Harry Villegas Tamayo)
Franka Potente	...	Tania (Haydee Tamara Bunke Bider)
Norman Santiago	...	Tuma (Carlos Coello)
Joaquim de Almeida	...	President René Barrientos
Pablo Durán	...	Pacho (Alberto Fernández Montes de Oca)
Ezequiel Díaz	...	Loro (Jorge Vázquez Viaña)
Juan Salinas	...	Polo (Apolinar Aquino Quispe)

Storyline

In 1965, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara resigns from his Cuban government posts to secretly make his latest attempt to spread the revolution in Bolivia. After arriving in La Paz, Bolivia late in 1966, by 1967, Che with several Cuban volunteers, have raised a small guerrilla army to take on the militarist Bolivian movement. However, Che must face grim realities about his few troops and supplies, his failing health, and a local population who largely does not share the idealistic aspirations of a foreign troublemaker. As the US supported Bolivian army prepares to defeat him, Che and his beleaguered force struggle against the increasingly hopeless odds.

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Plot Keywords:

army | bolivia | guerrilla | guerrilla army | revolution | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

Spain France USA

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

24 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guerrilla

Filming Locations:

Jimena de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wild Bunch, Telecinco, Laura Bickford Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Benicio Del Toro chose Ryan Gosling to play Benigno 'Beni' Ramírez. Gosling met with the real Ramirez and learned some Spanish to prepare for role. But delays during pre-production caused Gosling to drop out of the project.

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Goofs

At his execution, Che was shot a total of nine times, not three as shown in the movie.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Ernesto Che Guevara: [to a Bolivian soldier about to execute him] Shoot. Do it.

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Connections

Referenced in Carlos (2010)

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Soundtracks

Balderrama
Lyrics by Manuel José Castilla
Music by Gustavo Leguizamon
Performed by Mercedes Sosa
Courtesy of Universal Music
Copyright (c) by Lagos Editorial (Warner/Chappell Music Argentina)

User Reviews

Part two is a great standalone film, beautifully filmed, inspiring and tragic

I came to watch Guerrilla, part two of Steven Soderbergh's biopic of Che Guevara, without having seen the preceding film and without more than a cursory knowledge of Che's life. At the same time I was rather apprehensive that this would be both a heavy-going history lesson and an unrepentant love-letter to the iconic revolutionary. As it turns out, this film far exceeded my expectations.

Guerrilla works remarkably well as a standalone film. The story of Che's failed attempt to lead a revolution in Bolivia, then under military rule, is a compelling tragedy. The initial impetus brought by Che's arrival incognito to lead the guerrilla war is lost as misfortune follows misfortune. The odds stack up against the revolutionaries. US backing for the Bolivian army, hostile conditions in the rainforest, suspicious locals and Che's failing health are just some of the difficulties which beset the nascent rebellion.

Soderbergh's portrayal of Che is largely uncritical, but this film is no hagiography. The style is refreshingly undramatic, with a subtle and effective soundtrack by Alberto Iglesias adding quiet drama to many scenes. Che is undoubtedly the centre of the film but there are very few close-ups of his face and we are encouraged to see the people fighting alongside him and sometimes against him too. Where Soderbergh wishes to demonstrate Che's virtues we see it in small episodes such as the loyal acolyte who upbraids two fellow guerrillas when they question Che's leadership, and emphasises the sacrifice that he has made in leaving behind Cuba to fight again for revolution.

The direction throughout is superb. Part two feels tightly edited despite its narrow focus and is able to communicate a great deal through images without the need for a narrator to spell things out for the audience. At the start of the film we see a few short clips of lavish parties in post-revolutionary Cuba, immediately furnishing us with ideas as to why Che would sacrifice his old life to fight again in another country. Later on, the portrayal of guerrillas marching through the unending rainforests stands out as a strikingly beautiful scene and helps to create a feeling of the enormity of the task before this tiny band of revolutionaries.

If there is a problem with the film it is the distance between the viewer and Che, which, though it does allow us to appreciate the context of the insurgency and the people around him, makes it hard for us to understand him better as a person. True, Benicio Del Toro is utterly convincing in the lead role – so much so that it is difficult to remember that you are watching an actor and not the man himself. However, watching Guerrilla as a standalone film means that we are given precious little insight into what is shaping Che's thoughts, words and actions. It is to be hoped that this is more to the fore in the first part of Soderbergh's biopic (I cannot comment on that yet), and certainly the strength of part two is making me look forward eagerly to seeing the prequel.