Steven Soderbergh is an interesting director; he takes the old concept of "one for me, one for the studios" further by seemingly being able to operate within both the independent and the studio circuit effectively as an artist and entertainer. Here he has done something very important, and that is to make a movie out of someone's life that is not strictly a biopic and has concerns outside the desire to essentialize the life into a narrative.
Che: Part One deals directly with Che Guevara in Cuba as part of the 26th of July Movement (the one that put Fidel Castro into power). It jumps back and forth between Guevara's visits and interviews in the United States (in "documentary grainy" black and white) and his roles in the guerilla army (in much more effectively shot color). I can't say the whole black-and-white-as-documentary-realism conceit worked all that well here, but at least it helped readily and visually jump between spaces.
The details are history. Guevara stands as a powerful symbol of resistance, and his writings important tactical information on guerilla warfare. To sit and watch this, you are asked to sit in with history being made through characters while the political world stands hidden beyond the trees or stated passive-aggressively in UN meetings. A little previous knowledge of Che Guevara's biography helps, but the storytelling is good enough that his character becomes a dialog in and of itself. One important aspect in specific is analyzed: how armed and violent revolution necessates use of extreme force and judgment, and yet how humanitarianism can coexist within the same body.
Nonetheless, this movie does not focus into great detail the hundreds of executions that took place after Fidel's rise to power. Neither does the second part. But that, in itself, is another document...
--PolarisDiB
Che: Part One deals directly with Che Guevara in Cuba as part of the 26th of July Movement (the one that put Fidel Castro into power). It jumps back and forth between Guevara's visits and interviews in the United States (in "documentary grainy" black and white) and his roles in the guerilla army (in much more effectively shot color). I can't say the whole black-and-white-as-documentary-realism conceit worked all that well here, but at least it helped readily and visually jump between spaces.
The details are history. Guevara stands as a powerful symbol of resistance, and his writings important tactical information on guerilla warfare. To sit and watch this, you are asked to sit in with history being made through characters while the political world stands hidden beyond the trees or stated passive-aggressively in UN meetings. A little previous knowledge of Che Guevara's biography helps, but the storytelling is good enough that his character becomes a dialog in and of itself. One important aspect in specific is analyzed: how armed and violent revolution necessates use of extreme force and judgment, and yet how humanitarianism can coexist within the same body.
Nonetheless, this movie does not focus into great detail the hundreds of executions that took place after Fidel's rise to power. Neither does the second part. But that, in itself, is another document...
--PolarisDiB