By Linda Winsh-Bolard
Based on memoir "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War" by Ernesto Guevara who became known as “Che” only after being first nicknamed by his country of birth, Argentina.
The film attempts to portray the roots and slow unfolding of the Cuban revolution where Che Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) and Fidel Castro (Demian Bichir) succeeded first at uniting the various opposition groups and then at defeating the US backed Batista regime.
It shows the living conditions prevalent in the largely invisible Cuban countryside after II. World War, then it maps the armed opposition, the transport of Che, a young Argentinean doctor, and his 82 comrades to Cuba (only 12 of these lived to see the end of the fighting), the growing understanding of what does it take to become a revolutionary, to win a revolution and the living and responsibilities of the partisans. It follows Che’s personal growth, the pitfalls of armed resistance and the almost iconic love for Fidel Castro.
Most of the film narration is framed by long interview between Che and an American journalist (Julia Ormond). The dialog is intercut with black and white footage of his UN appearance on behalf of the Cuban revolution, the follow up party, the Bolivian debacle, and colorful footage of the fights in the Cuba.
It explains the roots of revolutions and the growing up of revolutionaries well. One of film directors of the Czech New Wave, Ladislav Helge, who lived through at least two revolutions and one war, summed this, years ago, also very nicely: Revolutions pay for all the mistakes the previous system made. We would not have revolutions if the previous system treated people fairly.
I can only add that the brutality of the past system affects the harshness of upcoming change. Past horrors never bring the best in people.
Sondeberg clearly shows that however unjust and poor government Fidel Castro instituted, it changed things for the Cubans: Cuba is run by Cubans (Fidel was never good at listening to any power, be it the US or the USSR, and his island country could afford independence even if it means lack of material goods) and medical care, literacy and a chance, if unfulfilled, for better future is available to many people. We are bombarded by current sufferings of the former ruling class and tend to forget that most of the population was oppressed and dirty poor for centuries.
The director fails at neutrality: revolutions are expensive. In money, arms, supplies as well as people. The leaders can recruit soldiers but somebody must finance the rest. Revolutions have backers with their own interests. In the spirit of fairness, this should have been as visible as the US greed.
Also, unless you are very familiar with the history of the 1950’, you will get lost at continuity. Posting dates on the screen is not enough. There is no overall historical time frame to place the events, and most of us don’t listen to speeches made at UN, even today.
Despite the fighting, and there is plenty, blood and episodically human stories, it remains largely a pedantic film. The partisans are two-dimensional images of prototypes. Even Che is trapped in the “symbol of revolution” frame. Benicio Del Toro does not touch you, despite his intelligence, bravery and dedication, yet Che must have been enchanting. It might be because his love affairs, cruelty and adventures were edited out making him less human and more symbolic (students all around the world did not post a picture of an administrator on their walls, nor were films, plays and endless spin offs inspired by an erudite shadow). If Sondeberg used Che to reflect at history, then he succeeds at presenting his own point of view, but failed at dramatization of Che’s almost epic life. Action and argument don’t fuse together into a captivating image on the screen.
The cast is almost entirely male. I do not know enough about Cuban revolution to judge this. I am aware that in most revolutions women played significant role while the fighting went on only to find themselves forced out and into undervalued domesticity afterwards. History, even the filmed one, forgets them.
Directed and shot: Steven Soderbergh, Screenplay: Peter Buchman With: Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Guevara.
