CHE (2008/Steven Soderbergh)

[Johann]

part I: THE ARGENTINE


"The opportunities of most people are determined by forces they don't even see"- Che Guevara


Steven Soderbergh won the Palm D'or in 1989 for Sex, Lies, and Videotape, a film that the Cannes Jury praised as showing "a future for cinema".
Almost 20 years into the future (2008) Mr. Soderbergh delivered a Masterwork that proves not only that he has maintained cinematic greatness, but that he shoves it ever forward into the future. This is a film that moved me profoundly.
Soderbergh's 2-part CHE is a brilliant portrait of a major figure in 20th Century history, love him or hate him.
Dr. Ernesto "Che" Guevara was a Marxist, a soldier, a physician, a man of high moral standing and possibly the greatest Revolutionary warrior that ever walked the earth.

Critics of Che Guevara or Fidel Castro or the Cuban Revolutionary war like to paint them as murderers, as radical assassins or bloodthirsty killers. That's being un-informed. That's being ignorant.
Yes Fidel and Che are responsible for quite a few deaths. But as this film shows, no one was killed without a solid reason.
That Revolucion was for LOVE, believe it or not.
The most moving quote to me is from Che, stated in the film in voiceover:
LOVE. A True Revolutionary is guided by great feelings of Love.
Love of humanity, of justice and truth, it is impossible to concieve of an authentic revolutionary without this one quality.

Part One of Soderbergh's Che (The Argentine) was based on "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War" by Che himself.

We are taken to Mexico City in 1955, where Che first met Fidel Castro. Fidel proposes Che join them in their fight to take down Batista, even though he's a foreigner. They discuss money, fighters they need, how this has to be a coup "with principles". By the time they leave for Cuba in November '56 (in a leaky boat?!) they have 82 men ready to fight. Only 12 would survive to the end to witness victory.
The film moves through 1957, 1958 and 1959 with brisk editing and nice titles to keep the viewer in context. Very intelligent film that doesn't make the viewer feel dumb.

Most of the main arcs in the story are covered: the full attack on the Uvero Barracks (Sierra Maestra region). The tactics and strategic planning by Che & Fidel (collumns, etc.) The "psychological impact" the revolution was aiming for. Finding food, dressing wounds, carrying comrades who are injured, concern and respect for peasants, all the things that go into a revolution. I was amazed at the detail of the recreations. Soderbergh did an astonishing job with this film. I don't know how he did not win a slew of Oscars. Benicio del Toro IS Che. I got a real sense that Benicio knew Che Guevara's thought patterns. He plays this man with such understated conviction that it's astonishing. Roger Ebert said his performance was "Heroic" and it is. CHE himself would smile a huge smile I think. What a performance. And what a fuckin' MOVIE.

Here in Ottawa we have a statue of Simon Bolivar and as soon as Part I was over I went out for a walk to take a picture of it (around 2am) and came back to watch part II. I'd always walked by the statue and made a note to take a snap, but after watching THE ARGENTINE I felt compelled to take that picture right away. It was pouring rain and the wind was howling but I took the picture anyway. It felt right. Bolivar was a Hero to Che, a man he wanted to emulate. Che wanted Latin America to be free of American influence, not just Cuba.

We learn that while Che was in the Sierra Maestra that he still had a complex, of being a foreigner, fighting for Cuba. Fidel (played by Demian Bichir) says: You trained with us, you came in the boat with us, you fought with us and you were wounded with us. You are as Cuban and Revolutionary as everyone here.

[Johann]

Another quote from the film that I love:

In WAR AND PEACE, Tolstoy remarks that military science assumes that the bigger the army, the stronger it is. On the other hand, only vaguely do they recognize that the military "combat" strengths of an army is also it's true physical capacity multiplied by one unknown "X".
This "X" is none other than the spirit of the troops to fight and confront danger.Men with the desire to fight also understand WHY they are fighting, whether they are under the command of military geniuses or ones of normal intelligence- these men put themselves at the most advantageous point. And will TRIUMPH.

God do I love that.

Che loved humanity. So if anyone wants to come out of the woodwork and slam his legacy, just remember that he fought an oppressive government. And overthrew it with smarts. The revolution WON. It inspired the Vietnamese to send many Yankee weapons to Cuba after the U.S. lost the Vietnam war in 1975. "Our method proved the most effective for removing Batista" said Che.
Che states that without arms and without serious conviction, no one can win a revolution.
Kinda makes you think about certain parts of the world today, no?

Che had athsma, and he needed his athsma medication with him while fighting. His coughs made his comrades nervous while in the bush.
He was also a doctor, and helped many many peasants and troops with injuries, often taking photos with them. The Cuban Revolution is one of the best documented events in history. The film footage and photographs are extensive. Recently I watched a doc on the man who "shot" Che: KORDAVISION: Alberto diaz Gutierrez Korda. The man who took that Iconic photograph of Che in Havana at the memorial event for the 170 who died at the Pier, March 5, 1960. That photo has circulated worldwide and the man who took the photo hardly made a dime for it.
He took two shots of Che at that moment: a vertical and a horizontal. Korda still had the negatives when he died in 2001!!
In fact, all of his photographs of the Revolution are archived and preserved in Cuba. Great doc on the amazing story and man behind that Massively Iconic image...it's a great supplement to Soderbergh's movie.

We're willing to pay the price to take us to the frontiers of dignity. Not beyond.- Che

Che gives a stirring speech to the U.N. in The Argentine. It is "self-explanatory", just like his farewell letter to Cuba that Fidel read to the Nation when Che "disappeared'. I'd post it here, but you have to see it/hear it for yourself. It's timeless. And it's a riveting part of the film, in gorgeous grainy black and white.

We are shown how keen Che was on education. He wanted everyone in his orbit to want to learn how to read and write, learn math, etc.
Be a better citizen. A nation of illiterates is no nation at all. He constantly needles his comrades to read and write, to study. Education was a huge part of Che Guevara's mindset.
He also had no hatred for the people of the United States. it was the U.S. government that he took issue with. Their foreign policies that were frankly illegal.
Che drives it home that many legions of poor and destitute Cubans/Latin Americans are helping the United States propser in spades, all the while Latin American countries get exploited. A farmer who worked 4 years was paid 100 Pesos for his 4 years of work!!
Yeah, do the math on that.

A tiny island declared it's sovereignty and the U.S. went batshit.
Amazing, huh?
Watch this movie over and over if you have to. It's a history lesson that you really need.