Che - Part Two [DVD]

the cold reality of an inspired martyrdom -che2

soderbergh is in a different mood in part 2 with a bearded toro who turns controversial as he mysteriously disappears from cuba in 1965 after brooding a family of five with aulia his wife .
we see him arrive incognito in la paz ,bolivia and he explains his reasons for wanting to spread the revolution through central america in a country where half the miners are child labour and of those majority are dead by the age thirty and when they ask for better wages they are massacred .
there is no better reason for a revolution and you can hardly argue with that point of view,
but bolivia is harsh and different as here religion is used by the regime as a card against the communist guerrillas and the peasants are deceived into betraying their very saviours as godless traitors to christianity .
this is very dark ,both with the muted light and colour and the cinematography is in a different frame as well with hand held camera shots of ravine crossings ,betrayals with planned massacres and dearth of food and medication .
it seems like the inspired team know they are doomed but are too committed to turn back and the few reluctant mates have no choice to opt out as the noose tightens around them in a rugged natural harsh hinterland .
the peasants behave much differently from the cuban populace and it seems bolivians then were not ready for the vision of che though the man was obsessed with the ideals of free and just society for them which to them was too much of a dream to fantasize .
the emphasis on the fact castro is dining at the nationa while they are existing on corn if lucky and have to slaughter their horses at times is made very subtly and the comparison is not at all offensive as the two men have chosen their own fates by free choice and are fulfillling differentt roles in rather opposite directions even if the motivation mifgt be the same although that is rather vague to speculate upon in retrospest
the mood becomes more desperate as the numbers of guerrillas dwindles and the americans get in the picture training local militia who are aware che is heading the uprising .
the cold and pathetic behaviour of the natives is well depicted and the deceptions documented in a very unsentimental manner ,there are some definitive moments here where pessimism grabs hold of the camera as well as the characters in a pathos which is equal to a greek tragedy except we are in a bolivian forest rather then a studio stage where the ambiance almost oozes and drips off the characters onto the audience .
this is simple genius and sonderberg has staged this with a detached emotion which makes it a reality show rather then a fake historical enactment .
the logistics of shooting this and the shoot must have been phenomenal as i think the suffering the revolutionaries went through is reflected onto the celluloid in a unique manner .
but it also gives them a nobility where they are levitated above rest of humanity particularly as we can proclaim without a whimper of doubt that che was acting out of his true belief for improving the state of an ailing humanity and that makes him a pure soul in itself and a redeemed spirit .
the end result is of no consequence as you see that both bolivia and venezuela have native democratic leaders today and are regarded as the harshest critics of a state that stands for capitalism .
that this capitalism is responsible for the poverty of the third world itself by getting the mass poor population to boost the capitalistic economy is what che was fighting against and soderbergh and del toro have translated that sacred vision to screen in a manner which defies any applause or appraisal as it is a life time achievement .

this feels too distraught yet intelligently maneouvred to be a concious tragedy as it comes out as a achievement both personally for che and a cinematic achievement which reminds you of movies like apocalaypse now and the leopard .

even then you feel like you have suffered a personal bereavement yet there is a celestial joy that remarks nothing worthwhile comes without a price in this world of ours .

particularly justice ,morality ,equality and freedom and the ability mostly to be able to cherish them as personal ideals which is the most important aspect of human existence .

This film really brings alive the Cuban Revolution. I watched it once before I visited Cuba and it was good then. However, it is outstanding if you have ever visited the locations where the actions took place at the time. The train wreck at Santa Clara is spectacular and seems to have been staged in its original location. The hotel at Santa Clara still has bullet holes in the walls and in the film we see a reconstruction on the same location as the battle. The acting was good and it was difficult to tell any difference between Che himself and Benicio del Toro. There is a clever use of newsreels to authenticate the story line. Sometimes what looks like newsreel is in actual fact part of the story filmed in black and white. The fact that the dialogue is in Spanish may put some people off as English speaking people do not seem to like films in other languages these days, but the use of Spanish makes it much more realistic.

`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.

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