I went to see the new Soderbergh "Che" movie at the Nuart, all 5 hours of it with a 20 minute intermission. It is two films, part one is about Che meeting Castro and the fight for Cuba for los Cubanos and part two is about Che attempting to assist rallying peeps in Bolivia to make Bolivia for Bolivians.
The pacing of the film might lose some peeps unfamiliar with the history as it jumps from pre revolution, to fighting in the mountains, to Che's NYC visit to the U.N. Aside from some corny cameos from Lou Diamond Philips and Matt Damon, the film runs with a smooth intensity equal to Guevara's speeches. Actually LDP fits his role very well as an all talk wishy washy communist leader that double crosses. Damon has a quick scene as a German priest.
Ofcourse this is Del Toro's show and he keeps all eyes on him, except when Demian Bichir's Castro is in the scene or nearby, but that is how it seems it was. Castro was the MAN, the leader, etc. and so when he came around he was the center. Soderbergh helps you feel the stress, dissapointment, achievement, pride, loss and gains, pain and stench of living a revolutionary life in the mountains trying to get peasants on your side of a fight that they know is for their own good, but may be either too afraid to join or have no other choice but to join. Each scene says something, no shot is taken without having a tale to tell. The film moves and breathes as the life of Che, with beauty, class, asthma attacks, patience, detail, a faith in mankind and ofcourse love. When the two films come out later this year (very soon), part one will definately be welcomed as it has the Hollywood ending of liberating Cuba for Cubanos, the second film will be a hard sell since it seems obvious from the start that the Bolivians were not ready to fight and we all know Che will die in the end. I recommend you go see the two parts together while you still can.
