The first of a two part biopic of Cuban revolutionary leader
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara stars Benicio del Toro as Che. The film flicks back and
forward between late 1950s Cuba
and various interviews and appearances by Che in 1960s New York but the main focus of the film is
the revolution itself and the part that Guevara played in it.
Although I identify myself as very left wing and have seen the fantastic The Motorcycle Diaries based on Guevara’s trip around
The story is fascinating and picks up pace as the revolution
sweeps across the country, beginning in the mountains and ending up in large guerrilla
style street battles against government forces. I am torn as to whether I think
I learned enough about Guevara as a man. On the one hand, his political
ideology was a constant theme but there was very little of Ernesto. This is
very much Che, as the title would suggest. A character who takes a back seat is
Fidel Castro. I’d liked to have seen more of him and learned more but obviously
this is a Che biopic, not a Castro film. I think someone of limited knowledge
of the issues, history and people the film studies may struggle to enjoy is as
much as someone who is more aware of its context. Unlike Scorsese’s biographical
films which you are able to go into having never heard of their subjects, this
is a film which rewards those with an understanding and perhaps leaves those
without previous understanding slightly perplexed. I’d class myself as being
somewhere near the middle of that spectrum and as such I enjoyed the film very
much but was left wanting to know more on occasion, both about Guevara and Cuba .
Benicio del Toro’s performance as Che is incredible. He
embodies him both in image and in his interpretation of the man. He looks an
awful lot like Guevara throughout the film. Another double was Demian Bichir
who when viewed in profile was the spitting image of the ex Cuban leader Castro.
The acting throughout was excellent but due to my lack of knowledge of those
involved, I am unable to say whether they were true to the people they were
portraying.
Che Part One is an interesting look at one of the most
recognizable and influential people of the 20th Century. The film is
very much biased towards Guevara’s point of view and as such I don’t think it
is a particularly balanced film, although I would identify my ideology as
closer to his than my current government so don’t mind the lack of balance. I
was interested throughout but was left wanting to know more about him and the
country he was fighting for. On the plus side, del Toro is excellent and the
film has a great look to it.
6/10