Dec 10, 2008 by Julian Roman

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Benicio Del Toro and Demian Bichir Discuss Che!

Benicio Del Toro has the perfomance of his career in Director Steven Soderbergh's two-film epic of revolutionary guerilla, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. There are two, two and a half hour films, with a twenty minute intermission between them. The first is Che (Part 1): The Argentine, a brilliant war film about the actual military operation to overtake Cuba in 1956. The second film is Che (Part 2): Guerrilla, which portrays Che's exploits in Bolivia in 1967 until his death. Both films are solid, top-notch filmmaking from Soderbergh, but the first piece, "The Argentine", is clearly superior and by itself is easily one of the best films of 2008.

Del Toro and Soderbergh approach the character of Che pragmatically. He is a revolutionary with Marxist ideology and uses these themes continually through his guerilla campaigns. We see the nuts and bolts of fighting a war, including the strategy used to topple 'capitalist' regimes. Many people will no doubt criticize these films for romanticing Che and not branding him as an executioner or murderer. This is a philosophical judgement that can be made, but the films should be viewed as works of art. And in that response are extraordinary accomplishments.

I had the chance to interview Del Toro and Demian Bichir, who plays Fidel Castro, in New York a few weeks ago. Both men were proud of their work and considered "Che" the acting opportunity of a lifetime. They will both get Oscar nominations, but I would be surprised if either won due to the politics of the film.



Che (Part 1) and Che (Part 2) open December 12th in NY & LA for one week then expands January 9th.

Che (Part 1) was released January 24th, 2009 and stars Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Pablo Guevara, Franklin Díaz, Armando Suárez Cobián, Rodrigo Santoro, María Isabel Díaz. The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Che (Part 2) was released February 20th, 2009 and stars Demián Bichir, Rodrigo Santoro, Benicio Del Toro, Catalina Sandino Moreno, María D. Sosa, Raúl Beltrán, Raúl Gómez, Paty M. Bellott. The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh.


Sources: Julian Roman

Do you like this story?


RELATED STORIES

Comments (5)

  1. thyst0006

    Amazing movie. Demian Bichir is not currently listed as "in contention" in the Oscar race. He should be.

    3 years agoby @thyst0006Flag

  2. ala2009

    awesome

    3 years agoby @ala2009Flag

  3. Oli

    I want to see this, but I'm not sure I could sit through 5 hours of film lol.

    3 years agoby @reviloleeFlag

  4. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Same bro. Looks awesome.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  5. Space101

    I can't wait to see this movie!

    3 years agoby @space101Flag

(More)Latest News
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen vs. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen vs. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(More)Recent Activity
(More)Most Commented Stories
(More)Top Rated Stories