Che: A Review

Today I broke from my self-imposed exile of home to scurry forth to the Naro Theater across the street from me to see the movie Che (directed by Steven Soderbergh). One word can sum up the experience: OMFG (ok..so maybe not a word, but who cares); it was absolutely brilliant! Benicio del Toro's portrayal of Che alone is worth the price of admission (not to mention the four hours and a bit of sitting- Parts 1 and 2 back to back- talk about butt fatigue-thankfully a souvenir Che movie pamphlet was provided to commemorate the experience). Equally stellar is Santiago Cabrera's portrayal of Camilo Cienfuegos in Part 1, both physically and in character portrayal. Camilo was one of the stand-out figures from Anderson's Che biography and it was really nice to see such an portrayal on screen.

At times the movie did get a little tedious. After all, how many times can one watch a rag-tag band of guerrillas stalk about in the jungle: lush tropical foliage of Cuba: check and check again; the more arid foliage of Bolivia: check and check again. But this minor drawback is more than offset by the powerful acting by the principle characters.

Each of the two parts were good in their own way. Part 1 deals with the Cuban Revolution and is generally the better of the two in terms of pacing and overall presentation. Those not familiar with Che and his writings would find this the more accessible of the two (though honestly I think for the average American moviegoer, the films are generally inaccessible). That being said, I preferred Part 2, which dealt with Che's failed Bolivian campaign and was based on his Bolivian Diary. I read this diary late last year and was impressed with Soderbergh's ability to capture and portray the feelings of hope and then despair one gets from reading of the failed expedition in Che's own words.

So at any rate, Che was certainly worth the afternoon spent in the theater and it's equally certain that it will be one of the rare additions to my collection of DVDs. Four stars out of four.