Che: Part One (2008)

In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

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

Stars:

Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Oscar Isaac

4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Ormond	...	Lisa Howard
Benicio Del Toro	...	Ernesto Che Guevara
Oscar Isaac	...	Interpreter (as Óscar Isaac)
Pablo Guevara	...	Dinner Guest #1
Franklin Díaz	...	Dinner Guest #2
Armando Suárez Cobián	...	Dinner Guest #3
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Raúl Castro
María Isabel Díaz Lago	...	María Antonia (as María Isabel Díaz)
Demián Bichir	...	Fidel Castro (as Demian Bichir)
Mateo Gómez	...	Cuban Diplomat #1
Ramon Fernandez	...	Héctor (as Ramón Fernández)
Yul Vazquez	...	Alejandro Ramírez (as Yul Vázquez)
Jose Caro	...	Esteban (as José Caro)
Pedro Adorno	...	Epifanío Díaz
Jsu Garcia	...	Jorge Sotús (as Jsu García)

Storyline

The Argentine, begins as Che and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956. Within two years, they mobilized popular support and an army and toppled the U.S.-friendly regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | che guevara character | fidel castro character | raul castro character | drinking from a bottle | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Spain Mexico

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

24 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Argentine

Filming Locations:

Campeche, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,070, 14 December 2008

Gross USA:

$748,555

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,209,065

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wild Bunch, Telecinco, Laura Bickford Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 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

There is a running camera shot at the UN of national flags, the current Canadian flag is displayed but it was first introduced in 1965, the movie scene is suppose to take place in 1964.

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Quotes

Lisa Howard: What is the most important quality for a revolutionary to possess?
Ernesto Che Guevara: El amor.
Cuban Diplomat #1: [translating] Love.
Lisa Howard: Love?
Cuban Diplomat #1: Love of humanity... of justice and truth. A real revolutionary goes where he is needed.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Underrated Movies of the Century So Far (2020)

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Soundtracks

Oru de Igbodú Para Yemayá: Agayú
Performed by Conjunto de Tambores Batá de Amado Diaz Alfonso
From the recording entitled "Sacred Rhythms of Cuban Santeria, S F40419"
Provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
(c) 1995. Used by Permission

User Reviews

Atmospheric and well made but...

Nothing quite like getting your teeth into an epic is there? Sitting back and letting yourself get immersed into a struggle, a journey, in this case the Cuban revolution that has become such a cause celebre for many since the 1950s. By the time I left the cinema I sadly felt as though the epic had been squashed down into an easily swallowed period piece with all the epic grandeur of a Dan Brown novel. The problem with Che Part One is that it doesn't say anything particularly interesting or contain any memorable moments. There is lots and lots of shooting which is actually fairly sanitised (this is certainly no Saving Private Ryan), there is some mistreatment of people who are then avenged and there are lots of shots of Benicio del Toro looking quite idealistic and cool.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing specifically wrong with this film. It portrays a fairly accurate (if, as I said, sanitised) picture of the March on Santa Clara and the victory of Castro's rebels. However much in the same way as the kind of perpetually running museum film that you can dip in and out of it is largely uninspiring and leaves you feeling quite detached. The problem is not the direction or the acting which does manage to transport you into the heart of a Civil War ravaged Cuba. It is the fact that we learn next to nothing about Cuba, Che himself or the goals of the revolutionaries. We learn nothing of why the Batista regime was so bad that people wanted to overthrow it. Which means that this simply stands alone as a war film where there are lots of explosions, lots of running around and some scenes of people celebrating in the streets. While I understand from reports that Che Part Two is rather different I think that nevertheless the slight blandness of Che Part One means that, though it looks good, it does feel like a rather wasted opportunity.