Che: Part One and Part Two

So I figured what the hell and completed the hat-trick of multiple-part-movies-about-terriorists-and-gangsters-and-other-shit that came out recently and saw both parts of Che.  Before I saw this series I didn’t know much about Che except that he was some type of Cuban revolutionary but people talk about him (at least in the U.S.) like he was a great man and different from others that had similar ideas.  And after watching these two movies I can see why. 

Director Steven Soderbergh (Solairs, Out of Sight) paints a fairly open ended picture of him I think.  Like Che will say all of this stuff about wanting to build a society where everyone will have access to hospitals and schools ‘n shit so you can’t really disagree with him but at the same time you know that he’s talking about communism.  I like how Soderbergh lets you decide, based on Che’s ideas and words, if you’re with him or not.  It’s interesting to have a character that you want to be with and you want to see succeed but you also don’t want him to keep thinking that communism is the answer.  Che has good intentions and wants to help people but he goes about it the wrong way.  He’s a contradicting person that wants to help as many as he can but is also willing to kill whoever gets in the way of his cause.  He won’t harm innocent people that don’t fight him though and since he’s a doctor he’ll check out and treat anyone that he comes across.  I think Che genuinely has a heart of gold unlike Mesrine who knew that you get the most out of people when you’re nice to them.  With Che he wishes that there were no poor, uneducated or unhealthy people in the world but he sees no alternative but violence in achieving that goal.

Benicio Del Toro (Sin City, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) plays the title character and does a good job.  I think he’s one of those actors that can pull off a great performance if he wants to but only gives a shit every couple of movies.  I guess he was feelin’ this project because I love how stoic he plays it.  In some of his other films like The Hunted or The Wolfman he’ll play it so down that he comes off as being bored with what he’s doing.  But in Che he benefits from letting his body and face do a lot of the talking.  And whenever he does say something it’s meaningful and he comes off as a natural leader.  Che suffered from asthma and it shows another side of him that Del Toro does really well because every once in a while he’ll have an attack and start wheezing and get weak.  His appearance changes a bit throughout the two movies also.  It’s nothing like in Carlos but by the end of the series Che’s hair and beard have grown kinda long and he looks like he’s aged a good twenty years even though these movies cover a span of only about ten years.  

I’m split on Soderbergh though.  He did a pretty good job here but overall I find his style to be pretty boring.  I also thought Traffic was boring but that was when it came out so I really need to see it again.  But Soderbergh is a director that I don’t quite get because if you look at his resume you see two types of movies, pretentious arty movies and slick comedy capers.  I want to say that he’s more into the former because he’s made more of those kinds of films which makes those fucking Ocean’s movies and The Informant! kind of inexplicable.  Those films seem like the type of shit that he’s trying to counteract with the rest of his work.  Why does he make pompously shot and edited movies and also in-your-face-aren’t-we-clever flashy dumb mainstream movies?  If he merged those two styles together then he would have some more interesting pictures in my opinion.  I think Out of Sight is the closest he’s come to achieving that and I thought it was a pretty good movie.  But I haven’t seen The Limey yet and from the trailer it looks like it could have some teeth but I just don’t trust Soderbergh man.

Like Carlos and Mesrine these movies could have also been edited down a bit but I think it would have been hard to fit everything into one film.  Although unlike those other two both parts of this are pretty even.  I do think the first film is a little better but the second one is just as interesting because it’s sort of the opposite of part one.  Instead of having little opposition, a big guerilla army and huge success in toppling the government like he did in Cuba Che has trouble gaining traction in Bolivia and keeps on fighting even though it becomes clear that it’s a lost cause.  They make America look kinda evil in the second movie too which was interesting.  So like with the other series’ I’m glad there are two parts.  It gives ample time to examine a fascinating character.  It’s his personality and his conflicting ideas that make him interesting.  His actions are also certainly something that’s part of who he is but it’s the philosophy of Che that makes this series enjoyable.  Like for instance when his interpreter asks him if he’s needed for the rest of the night Che tells him that no one is indispensible so do whatever it is that you need to do.      

I liked both the Carlos and Mesrine series’ better than this one but it was still good.  If you’re interested in learning about Che then you should check these couple of movies out.  If you just want to see some shit get blown up and some cool shootouts then this is definitely not for you.  These movies are educational and a character study and not action movies.  It’s about getting to know this controversial figure that I think we all want to like but have a hard time accepting because there are violent and communist strings attached.