Customer Reviews

Ernesto Che Guevara, The Bolivian Diary [VHS]

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

 

 

Following the Bolivian trails where Che fought his last battles is quite moving. This documentary wore me out both emotionally, and in some strange way, physically.

Included in this film are photos of Che's original diary. Also included were interviews with people who met him during the Bolivian struggle. The most impressive interview was with a village schoolteacher who had a conversation with him moments before his execution.

Excellent. This one cut deep. Not only the facts about Che, but the people interviewed were extremely interesting. Hint: read the english subtitles fast. Some subtitles obscured by the film color but not too bad. I recommend this film to anyone interested in Che.

Recommended for true Che Guevara fans. Not very exciting, but thorough personal account of last Che Guevara's battle.

Although the scope of the movie is limited to the diary of Che Guevara during the last year of his life, one gets a very good sense of the man and his commitment to the poor of the world and their living a better life. Whether you agree or not with the ideals of Che Guevara, this documentary, through Che's diary and interviews with some those whom he encountered in Bolivia, humanizes the man and gives a portrait of his struggle those who did not stand up for themselves. What I found most interesting is how the film shows that Guevara never really captured the imagination of the Bolivian peasants, the same people for whom he sacrificed his life. It is too bad that it was never noted, in neither Che's diary nor by the film maker, that the Bolivian military men whom Che and his men were killing were essentially the peasants for whom Guevara was fighting. I did find it quite annoying that neither of the narrators could correctly pronounce the Latin American names of either people or places. I watched this documentary not knowing a whole lot about Guevara. Having been to Bolivia 3 times, I found the replication of Che's movement throughout the Bolivian countryside quite authentic. I was also able to relate to the ignorant, yet gentle, ways displayed by the Bolivian campesinos interviewed in the film. I found the interview with the school teacher who spoke with Guevara, following his capture and just prior to his execution, to have been invaluable to this documentary. Knowing what I know about the poverty in Bolivia, the people of Bolivia and the terrain through which Guevara traveled, it is quite amazing to me that he lasted as long as he did, especially while afflicted with asthma. I gave the documentary 3 stars instead of 4 due to the poor translation of Spanish to English and how Spanish proper nouns were pronounced. I also found it inappropriate that the narrator referred to the man who executed Guevara as an "assassin". My attitude towards comments such as that is; Let the film stand on its own merits. I don't need or want the film maker's opinion coming through in subtle, yet inappropriate, ways.

The American public is a sucker for an underdog story. Truth be told, Che was not much more than a literate, terrorist thug. Much like Osama bin Laden, except not as charismatic. He's no different than the insurgents we see in videos coming out of Iraq. Che executed a great number of prisoners, with no trial and no mercy.

It makes me sick to see American teens wearing Che t-shirts. Don't they know? Che was a murderer that hated everything about America. And now little Billy wants to buy a Che t-shirt at the mall. Gimme a break.