Though there are many controversial figured in history Ernesto "Che" Guevara is one of the more notable ones. To many people he is "that guy who put Castro in power." This is only partially true; while Che was a big factor is Castro's successful takeover he was still a small part in a grand revolution. Steven Soderbergh's "Che" is a massive undertaking of a film. At over four hours with multiple camera styles, visual looks, and narratives, this is a film on the scope of the old fashioned roadshow films of the fifties and sixties. Though there is enough difference between filming styles between the two parts that it's easy to consider this two separate films, the truth is this works best as one film told in two parts.
The first half of the film shows Che at his most optimistic and grand point in his life. He is a great leader. Smart, compassionate, and in charge. His first revolution goes by with almost no problems and is a wild success. His second revolution, shown during the second half of the film, is less so. Sporadic, uncontrolled, and aimless, Che seems like a lost child in a country that he clearly doesn't understand. His intentions are good with both efforts though. Though he is blamed with helping a power-hungry dictator get into power, we see through Che's eye's that Castro was a man with a vision. Someone who could help his people. When Che publically denounces Cuba and it's leader we get the sense that he feels responsible for the trouble he helped bring to the world.
We feel he is determined to make the second revolution work properly but, alas, he is weak. He doesn't have the fire in the belly he once had, and so the second revolution ends in his execution. But aside from these epic events "Che" is about the man and the people he lead. They have personalities. They have dreams. Some are motivated by ideals while others are motivated by greed. While Che is a fascinating character (played wonderfully by Benicio Del Toro) we feel more connected to the people he interacts with then with him. One memorable moment comes when Che visits the US. He has to have a translator with him. Since the translator is a young kid he is constantly asking him "if there's anything else you need." Che laughs at this every time, wishing he were that young once again. It's the little moments that make "Che" a great film.
Though there are some pacing problems during the second act that prevents this from being an excellent film I can excuse these moments. Steven Soderbergh is a director who is constantly taking chances and gambling, and this was one of his biggest yet. The project had a lot of interest in Hollywood until Soderbergh decided to film it in Spanish. Once that choice was made the support fled, and Soderbergh made this with help from foreign countries instead. Thankfully he made that gamble because we're not likely to see something as bold and epic as this for a long time.
