The Leader

Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Film

Over the years, the legacy of revolutionary Che Guevara has been tarnished by a misinformed public image. While his philosophies were branded as radical and his reputation smeared in the halls of the politically elite, many young people are ignorant of the true sacrifice and determination behind the eyes of the face they wear on their t-shirt. Steven Soderbergh (the Ocean's saga, Traffic) hopes to put out these fires of fallacy with his four hour plus epic Che, divvied into two parts for it's recent showing at the Landmark Oriental (It premiered in it's entirety at the Cannes Film Festival). What results is a fascinating, encompassing portrait, as dedicated as Che was to showing what it means to be a true revolutionary.

The first film follows Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) intimately, from discussions in Mexico with Fidel Castro (Demian Bechir) about the 26th of July movement, through an empowering two year revolution in Cuba against U.S. backed leader Fulgencio Batista. As he traverses the jungles, we get to know a truer side of Che than the merchandised animal he has become and would despise so ironically. A man who shakes the hands of men who join his movement, truly interested in their plight and thankful for their help, it's made clear that Che does what he does for the people who have been forgotten by those who should take care of them; that he wishes to give voice to the voiceless is his goal, and we admire him for it. The second film takes a minor step away from Che the man to relate the tragic metaphor of his final years as part of the Bolivian revolution. As forces conspire, it becomes clear that Che and his rebels are being plaintively sacrificed in the name of politics. The lives of good souls are needlessly lost in vicious ambushes and Che becomes what he always wanted: the perfect revolutionary; the martyr.

It goes without saying that such an all-encompassing and engrossing portrait is daring at the least and would take the highest caliber of talent to bring such a life to the screen with justification. Well, look no further than Benicio Del Toro. Also a producer of the film, Del Toro gives the performance of a lifetime, not necessarily because it is his best or most acclaimed performance, but because of the sheer devotion committed by the man to bring this picture to life. Rarely do actors take such strides to bring a polarizing figure that they personally admire while others, some fans, find the history and glorification of the man detestable. When someone rises to that level of artistic courage, it must be acknowledged, as well as the humanity and intensity that Del Toro brings to the role. Che is as reactive as he is active, and he deals with situations the only way he knows how, thinking always for the cause and despising the deserters. As much as this is a showcase of Del Toro's chops, to say it's not Steven Soderbergh's show would be a bold faced lie.

It almost feels like Soderbergh went looking for the avant-garde with a palette of classical colors. The rich yellows and browns and the emphasis on natural lighting has a spiritual cousin in The Godfather, not to mention a shared time period. The cinematography acts as a silent narrator, conveying the rebellious confidence of the first film as well as the impending doom of the second. The first film's pace and technique is aggressive, almost light, while the second film had the silent rhythm of a funeral march, both feeling like they were sacrificing something in terms of comprehension in the favor of mood and style. All in all, he makes the film interesting to watch, but as the story goes, he starts to try to take the movie away from Che a little bit.

For the flaws, cinematic and historic, as well as the drawling length of the pictures even in their separate parts, the films are a must see for aficionados and fans of those involved, including admirers of Che Guevara. Hell, I'd be down for a back to back showing once these come out on DVD.

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