Che     Part One


Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Starring Benicio Del Toro, Demian Bichir, Elvira Minguez

Based on Reminiscences of the the Cuban Revolutionary War, by Ernesto "Che" Guevara

In the early 19th century, Haiti, a country in the Caribbean, was prized for lumber, coffee, mangoes, and slaves, and was controlled by imperialist France. Breaking the chains that bound him, a slave by the name of Toussaint L'ouverture did the impossible and defeated the great Napoleon. Spirited by the fires of voodoo, L’ouverture was able to inspire the people of Haiti, then known as Saint-Domingue, and lead a rebellion that had massive geopolitical consequences.

 

Flash forward to Mexico City on one seminal night in 1955; the destiny of the Caribbean changes incredibly again. As Che Guevara and Fidel Castro look out over the sparkling city night, smoking cigars, drinking liquor, a political revolution is born. The Caribe is still monopolized by imperialists. The prized island this time is Cuba. And the agent of change is no longer voodoo but socialism and the promise of guerilla warfare.

 

Che tells part of this amazing story.

 

The movie, based on Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, written by Guevara himself after his march to Havana, stars Benicio Del Toro.

 

While the Fidel character (Demián Bichir) plays heavily in the script, it is for the most part the tale of Guevara, the international hero, mostly unsmiling, asthmatic, arrogant, calculating, compassionate doctor of medicine and military strategist.

 

Cuba was a contentious island after General Fulgencio Batista seized power over the island in a 1952 coup. Che and Fidel, after witnessing peaceful tactics, such as a general strike, fail to bring change, determined that only armed struggle would bring the country to justice. The two men set out to overthrow what was known as "America's Brothel", which suffered from high rates of poverty, illness and illiteracy.

 

The movie follows a simple yet compelling plot, the revolutionaries’ road to the capital Havana. Using the intercut technique throughout, the film reveals Che’s multifaceted character. For instance, we see an execution of a treasonous revolutionary juxtaposed against Che’s visit to the United Nations in 1964.

 

Fighting from the hills of Sierra Maestra to Santa Clara to Havana, the revolutionary fighting force increases and though their campaign is bloody it gains unstoppable force. This feeling is skillfully captured by the director, Steven Soderbergh, who has been involved with a host of radical films including Michael Clayton and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. The film’s action rises steadily to the climactic defeat of Batista’s forces. The narration consists of the intercut and flashforward techniques, interviews with Che, excerpts from his memoirs read over the action of the film, and images of New York Times headlines that heighten the suspense.

 

The interviews, done mostly by US journalists, and the newspaper headlines are intercut with the intimate realities of jungle warfare, expertly revealing Che’s double consciousness: that which he sees and knows of himself and that which the world reports and is fed.

 

Soderbergh builds the movie like a minimalist architect -- no decoration, or shall I say, special effects, letting the structures of setting, the jungle and the city, reveal themselves for whatever they are worth.

 

One of the film’s motifs is the potential of youth. At the time Che joined the revolutionary struggle to topple Batista, he was a mere twenty-seven years old, linking him to other great youngsters like George Washington and Alexander the Great. One fantastic scene occurs early on where a barefooted hillbilly, sitting on a rock in the jungle and surrounded by armed men, is interviewed for the revolutionary army.

 

Hillbilly: I did all my studies, finished high school. Then I worked as a mechanic for two or three years. I then delivered milk around the area. Also worked as a boxer. And in a circus, working as a magician, among other things.

 

Incredulous soldier: In a circus? How old are you?

 

Hillbilly: Twenty.

 

Standing out more than the exciting street fights and the eventual victory celebration, this scene reflects youthful power and potential, which, as Mao would put it, is the foundation of any revolution. While many of our children in America are coddled and sheltered, the young Cuban hillbilly has a packed resume before, if he lived in America, he’d be able to take a shot of booze.

 

The central theme of the film could be either revolution or potential. Perhaps they are one and the same. The Cuban Revolution enables the campesinos – Diego Rivera’s celebrated peasants – to arm themselves and fight, much the same way this class did in 1910, during the Mexican Revolution under Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.

 

Soderbergh utilizes Tolstoy’s War and Peace, paraphrased by Guevara (Benicio Del Toro), to further elucidate these themes of revolution and potential. As the revolutionary army fights to overthrow a military outpost, Guevara speaks over the film.

 

Military science assumes that the bigger the army the stronger it is. But strategists sometimes fail to factor in the unknown X, which is the spirit of the troops and their desire to confront danger. (quote not exact)

 

Che, who gets lambasted by the combat freaks in Soldier of Fortune magazine for his so-called lack of field skills, opines in his memoirs that desire and consciousness overcome great obstacles.

 

In a world rife with civil war, this film is prescient.

 

Che proves that, under certain circumstances, Sisyphus absolutely can push the boulder over the mountain. Che’s story reveals potential, busting out of the mountains and the jungle and sounding like the rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun.

(BARDEL)