Film Festival 09 - Che
Che
Spain/France 2008, 262m
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Festivals: Cannes (In Competition), Toronto, New York, London
2008
Best Actor (Benecio Del Toro), Cannes Film Festival 2008
Guerrilla filmmaking on an epic scale, Steven Soderbergh's
painstakingly authentic Che takes a remarkably dispassionate look
at the iconic revolutionary hero. Shot in rugged locations in
Mexico, Spain and Puerto Rico, the film provides breathtaking
evidence of the widescreen brilliance and expressive power of the
new Red digital camera. Panoramic historical spectacle is no longer
the exclusive domain of the military industrial complex!
Che is in fact two films which we will be showing, at the
filmmaker's request, as a single presentation. Part One The
Argentine depicts the 1956-58 Cuban campaign and ends in glory with
Che and Fidel en route to Havana. Part Two Guerrilla follows Che's
disastrous attempt to repeat the Cuban strategy in Bolivia.
"No one who cares about organic film acting (the opposite of
showing off) will want to miss Benicio del Toro's magnificent
performance, his hooded eyes reflecting wells of idealism and
torment& Diving into the movie's riches is an experience you
won't forget or regret& Soderbergh says he was drawn to what
goes into 'implementing any large-scale political idea' - a
challenge that seems timelier than ever." - Peter Travers, Rolling
Stone
"Soderbergh's cinematography and Juan Pedro de Gaspar's art
direction create a superbly persuasive sense of mood, time and
place& Che is an adventure: massively serious and
ambitious& It is far from being a biopic, more a cinematic
extrapolation of Che's iconic status, and by that token it may
exasperate some. Others will be engrossed by this flawed,
sprawling, intriguing movie." - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"Che places Soderbergh in the ranks of the masters." - Amy Taubin,
Film Comment
In Spanish and English, with English subtitles
