Che - Part One

While not an uninteresting film on some levels, the first part of Steven Soderbergh's over four hour saga on the life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara does not provide a whole lot of insight into the man or how he was formed. The film begins in 1955 as Che is meeting with Fidel Castro and others, discussing the soon to be commenced attempt to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The film ends just before the rebels triumphant march into Havana. There are also a number of scenes that depict Che's visit to New York and the United Nations in 1964, where he tries to win support for the Cuban regime amongst diplomats, and some well connected, trendy, Upper East Side types. This film works best as a procedural, and does a pretty good job in explaining how a basically ragtag army was able to defeat a much more professional force, namely by having the people behind them. The film also makes sure we understand why the regime had such little support among the poverty stricken, exploited, and ill educated common folk. A much better film to see first though would be The Motorcycle Diaries, released in 2004, which depicts Che's journey throughout South America, and how witnessing the poverty of so many helped form him, and gave purpose to his life. Benicio Del Toro does a fine job in the title role and the film does have merit, but in the end, you won't get much more insight into the man than from wearing the T-shirt.

Rating - 2 1/2 Stars