★ 6 / 10
Picking up from his part in the successful
CinemaSerf
Picking up from his part in the successful installation of the Castro government in Cuba, Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) has moved around the South American…
Picking up from his part in the successful installation of the Castro government in Cuba, Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) has moved around the South American continent a bit before ending up in Bolivia where he and a few faithful followers decide to mobilise the miners in the south of the country against the leadership of President Barrientos. What's clear fairly quickly here is that his forces are smaller, much less well equipped and fighting a foe far more adept at his kind of warfare. This is much more of a documentary-style presentation from Steven Soderbergh and I found it really quite a dry chronology that portrayed Guevara as a sort of serial revolutionary. A man of principal, yes, but also one who increasingly became unwilling to consider that his might not be the only way to solve a problem. Also, his antagonist in Bolivia also knew well how to engender support from the "campaniles", many of whom had elected him in the first place. There appears to be much more speculation in this, too, and I found it struggled to maintain it's momentum as at times it bordered on the look of a spaghetti western. It illustrates well the gap between rich and poor, but here his philosophy is not so clearly defined - it's as if he always needs some sort of cause, regardless of his appreciation of what these people actually wanted or needed. The acting is really neither here nor there, and the dialogue suffers from audio issues when set amidst the dense jungle environment. I think this could easily have been condensed down and added to Part One. Interesting, but not great, and it doesn't really tell us very much about the man at all.
★ 8 / 10
decline of a revolutionary
Quinoa1984
Part Two picks up... not where the last film left off. As part of the quasi-conventionality of Steven Soderbergh's epic 4+ hour event, Che's two stories are…
Part Two picks up... not where the last film left off. As part of the quasi-conventionality of Steven Soderbergh's epic 4+ hour event, Che's two stories are told as classic "Rise" and "Fall" scenarios. In Part Two, Che Guevara, leaving his post as a bureaucrat in Cuba and after a failed attempt in the Congo (only in passing mentioned in the film), goes down to Bolivia to try and start up another through-the-jungle style revolution. Things don't go quite as well planned, at all, probably because of Che's then notorious stature as a Communist and revolutionary, and in part because of America's involvement on the side of the Bolivian Government, and, of course, that Castro wasn't really around as a back-up for Che.
As it goes, the second part of Che is sadder, but in some ways wiser than the first part. Which makes sense, as Guevara has to endure low morale from his men, betrayals from those around him, constant mistakes by grunts and nearby peasants, and by ultimately the enclosing, larger military force. But what's sadder still is that Guevara, no matter what, won't give in. One may see this as an incredible strength or a fatal flaw- maybe both- but it's also clear how one starts to see Che, if not totally more fully rounded, then as something of a more sympathetic character. True, he did kill, and executed, and felt justified all the way. And yet it starts to work on the viewer in the sense of a primal level of pity; the sequence where Guevara's health worsens without medicine, leading up to the shocking stabbing of a horse, marks as one of the most memorable and satisfying of any film this year.
Again, Soderbergh's command of narrative is strong, if, on occasion, slightly sluggish (understandable due to the big running time), and one or two scenes just feel totally odd (Matt Damon?), but these are minor liabilities. Going this time for the straight color camera approach, this is almost like a pure militia-style war picture, told with a great deal of care for the men in the group, as well as Guevara as the Lord-over this group, and how things dwindle down the final scene. And as always, Del-Toro is at the top of his game, in every scene, every beat knowing this guy so well- for better and for worse- that he comes about as close to embodiment as possible. Overall, the two parts of Che make up an impressive package: history as drama in compelling style, good for an audience even if they don't know Che or, better, if they don't think highly of him. It's that special. 8.5/10
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@bratinbasu - I N D I A has no more commis. All vanished. Maoists, too