Seen It: Che Part 1: The Argentine (2009)

Yesterday afternoon, I bicycled the two and a half miles to the Little Theater, our local independent movie house, and finally took advantage of the opportunity to see the first part of Steven Soderbergh's five hour bio-pic about Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Che Part 1: The Argentine starring Benicio Del Toro. Playing in limited release, and with Part 2 coming out next weekend, I needed to strike while I could...

As you may know, I spent a good part of time last year working my way through John Lee Anderson 700+ page biography of Che, and came away from it with a new found understanding of the largely iconographic figure. My previous reading brought additional understanding to the film whose narrative might otherwise been a little confused. I went alone, otherwise I could have had the thoughts of someone who had not read about Che's life in advance. Despite what may (or may not) be some cloudiness regarding the events leading up to Che's meeting with Fidel Castro (as played by Demian Bichir), in Mexico, the film was beautifully directed, shot and acted. Part I covers the period of Che's life from that point up until his victorious ride (by jeep) into Havana following the defeat of General Baptista's forces.

I have yet to see many of the films which were nominated or won an Oscar this past year, but I am very surprised that, at the very least, Del Toro was not recognized for his performance--though he did earn the acting award at least year's Cannes Film Festival. After enjoying Part I, I am greatly looking forward to seeing the remaining half of the movie (entitled Guerrilla), which focuses on Che's ultimately fatal revolution in Bolivia, next weekend.