of course the reality is that guevara behaved fairly heroically in his brief life. even for one who may oppose marxism or socialism, if they are familiar with the facts of the man's life, it is difficult to deny the selflessness of one who would go fight in foreign lands on behalf of the poor and powerless.
in che, soderbergh has created a modern, film-making marvel. by choosing a simple style of storytelling, from the use of hand held cameras to a dearth of context, soderbergh has achieved a quality of grittiness heretofore unseen.
in che, the facts are holy. style, dramatic effect, ego...they are all put aside in order to portray guevara's story as accurately as possible. even the music is scarce albeit effective. soderbergh stops well short of going all dogme 95 with this film, striking instead a tender balance between enhancing the story and letting it tell itself.
it is as if che was made for the american audience, for the purpose of informing them as to the true essence of che guevara. as it is, in america his image is considered iconic and at the same time it is parodied. ideologues on either side may sport the image unaware of the myriad and confused implications.
the movie is not a biography. it does not include guevara's childhood in argentina, his time in medical school, his trip by motorcycle up the continent, nor does it include his foray in the congo. it is the story of his encounter with fidel castro, (demian bichir,) in mexico city and their subsequent successful revolution in cuba, (part 1-"the argentine.") and it is the story of guevara's mission to bolivia to foment another revolution, (part 2-"guerrilla,") which of course failed and for which guevara lost his life. 80% of the film is war.
to understand the essence of che guevara the film offers a quote from che who said, in response to a reporter during a sequence of the film when he is in new york to address the united nations who asked him what one quality is most important for a true revolutionary,
an authentic revolutionary does it for love.che guevara did not crave power. he was not interested in material gain. he did it for love. the movie, 'che,' captures this about guevara and also illustrates how strident he was in regards to his values. "a revolutionary must feel like he is already dead to live." "feed the children first." "we always go back for a comrade who is down."
che guevara was a principled man extraordinaire. in addition to living his values, he lived for his values. despite the fact he wrote a book on guerrilla warfare, he was in no way a theoretician. he was a man of action. he put his principles into practice and proved their practicality in spite of those who live so far short of that and expect the worse from others. he was a man in the truest sense of the word.
in 'che,' guevara is never glorified, at least not by anything other than the facts. del toro is stoic in his portrayal of the warrior, which seems entirely accurate. if truth is a factor in the giving of awards, if consistency is a factor, del toro should have been a serious contender. (and kudos to sean penn for mentioning del toro's performance upon receiving the best actor golden globe.) still, awards are just awards. they are fun but they are subjective. benicio del toro's accomplishment is one of truth and the shame that is the lack of award nominations in no way detracts from the accomplishment and higher purpose that is 'che.'
the 50 years that have passed since fidel castro's rebel army toppled the regime of fulgencio bautista have provided perspective. in those days it was hard to know if bautista was the corrupt u.s. puppet the revolution portrayed him as or if he was the honorable leader our government would have us believe at that time. however, in time things such as these become clear and in spite of the many cuban-americans who were on the right side of that bautista regime and who lost land and wealth as a result of that revolution, it is difficult to see bautista as anything other than the despot he truly was.
in the years following that revolution the cia hatched plan after plan to assassinate castro. our government has funded propaganda primarily for distribution to and through the cuban-american community in the miami area using the newspapers of that area. since that revolution our government has stopped producing steel in birmingham, alabama, and along with trade embargoes, travel restrictions and other means of economic oppression, we have effectively isolated cuba from much of the world. in spite of those conditions, cuba has thrived in many ways.
cuba has a health care system of the first world. cuba has 100% literacy. despite limited natural resources, with only sugar cane and tobacco being valuable exportable products, cuba has survived in the face of long odds. wouldn't it have been interesting if the united states has been less insecure about our system of capitalism and instead agreed to trade with cuba and aid them in their quest to try something different so that they would not have been forced to ally themselves with the former soviet union?
hopefully 'che,' is seen by many americans and as older generations pass away the younger ones will open to the idea of accepting the sovereignty of cuba as well as their decision to try a path other than capitalism. this film is powerful and can certainly be a cog in the wheel of change.
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