Customer Reviews

Che Part Two

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some decade or so ago, I read a book on Che Guevara such asThe great rebel; Che Guevara in Bolivia [by] Luis J. Gonzalez [and] Gustavo A. Sanchez Salazar. Translated from the Spanish by Helen R. Lane on his South American military campaign and there seem to be a number of accounts, it told how he looked going incognito, in disguise into Bolivia with pictures, it showed that a major obstacle to Che's campaign in South America were largely the elements, high altitudes, they are in the land of the Andes, the weather, jungle. The elements kicked the Rebels' rump and they had to live very raw in the wild. Also, it was amazing to see the same disguise from the book portrayed in the movie, it is exactly the same and the actor Benicio del Toro looks just like "El Che" in both 1 and 2. They were a guerilla army working in remote areas of the country in one of the most remote countries of the world. As far as this being an authentic portrayal of that situation and bearing that in mind, this movie is accurate and deserves, take your pick five or four stars. Films like "Braveheart" take a lot of poetic license to build up the central figure into a great hero. We do not see this here. I am removed from the situation and have read pro and anti Cuban books and have long monitored short wave radio propaganda coming out of the Caribean for both sides. The propaganda position coming out of the two Che movies should not surprise anyone who has ever spent time listening to Radio Habana. I would suggest however, one read the amazing book, Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro's Gulag by Armando Valladares. This is required reading for anyone studying Cuba on a serious basis. It is up to all of us to make judgements and to try to do so on the most truthful basis possible. Che part one is a better dramatic movie but I can not fault this one for staying with historic accuracy. I will let others sermonize on the pros and cons of these Marxist thinkers, my review is only for the movie. Che part one seems to be a straightaway propaganda type forum for the Castro/Communist side of Cuba. Che part two seems indeed different at portraying his life and I thought might have been based on some of the aforementioned books but apparently both movies credit their storyline to the diaries of Guevara.

`Che Part Two' (aka Guerilla) looks at how Che tried to formulate and win a revolutionary war in Bolivia. Like part one this is shot entirely in Spanish with English subtitles, but the filming style feels different. You don't get the mixture of colour and black and white photography and this feels less like a documentary and more like war footage. It has plenty of hand held camera angles and a more intimate feel to it. Che has to deal with disobedient, unprepared and ill trained troops this time and you can see he struggles from the word go. He also has to deal with men who don't believe in the final objective as strongly as he does. In Cuba he had the backing of the peasants but in Bolivia they worked against the revolutionaries and hindered their progress at every turn. Che comes across as softer here, but just as resolute and with the same integrity he brought to the Cuban war. As before Del Toro is exceptional and the direction is impressive throughout. This is based on Che's own Bolivian diaries and like the first installment it can feel a little slow at times, but yet again we get offered an accomplished Bio-pic of an icon. This concludes both films with impact and leaves you with a greater understanding of the man and the times he lived in.

Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

Just like I said in my review for the Malcolm X film, it is not okay to marginalize Africa. Like Malcolm X, Che Guevara also visited Africa and it wasn't just to tour. They may have gone sight-seeing, but they also had some business to discuss. As an African, I was disappointed to see my continent marginalized in both films. I'll probably just get part 1 and end it there or just leave the film and focus on the books. I won't highly recommend this film. I can't.

Che part 2 Movie review 20 July 2009

MANY misguided imbeciles idolise Che Guevera, who was a stinking commie creep that fermented revolution in Cuba. Emboldened by his success in Cuba, he decided to go and try his luck in Bolivia by winning the hearts and minds of illiterate peasants to join his guerilla war. Well, we all know the end as it is a historical fact, and he deserved to die, shot down like a dirty rat.
The film is good in that the firefights are very realistic, and it captures the fog of war, that total confusion when all hell breaks loose and all you think about is getting some cover so you won't take a hit, and maybe get one of the enemy before he gets you. The firefights show no flashing lights and sparks when the bullets hit a place or rocks, which is absolutely realistic. When people get shot they don't fly back like they were hit by a truck and the movie captures this, Mostly, they just crumple and fall down like a sack of potatoes. NOT spectacular but very realistic and true to real life. It is in a way an anti-war film as it shows the dirty, gritty side of fighting for days on end, with no bath, no shave, no soap, no hot food, no Macdonald's big Macs, and no comforts of home far away in a distant place in harm's way. Never knowing whether the next second you'll be alive or not. Strangely enough, there are those who get addicted to the Adrenaline rush of living like this. Days of border punctuated by minutes of sheer terror and excitement when you feel so alive because you know you could be dead meat the next second.
Please see this if you dream of glory, fighting for your country in some God forsaken hellhole like Afghanistan, and maybe, just maybe, you'll decide your boring 9 to 5 life is much better. There is no glory, no Rambo bravado and no Hollywood fanfare in this "docu"-movie, just men in a difficult situation trying their best to survive day to day. This is a sanitised movie in many ways, primarily in that the Bolivian Army Rangers take the credit for Che's capture and Termination with Extreme Prejudice.
A certain company did a lot too, or did they? Neither confirm or deny...
Che deserved his bloody end, he was a stinking, dirty, hippie commie creep. The Bolivian peasants were too smart to fall for his rabble rousing. Good riddance to bad rubbish. May he rot in hell.