Che

I almost saw it when it opened in the theatres. Fortunately for me a friend told me it was 5 hours long. Not the sort of movie to see at the end of a long day of medical work, even if it is about a doctor who is a revolutionary.

At home, it was a different thing. The first part was about Che joining Fidel and others in Mexico. They go to Cuba and begin the revolution. There's a lot of jungle, village and town war scenes. What's fascinating is the relationships of the people. Of the 8o or so who came from Mexico only 12 survived. The history of the time is made clear. The general strike failed. The police and army became more brutal after that. "I think they saw how many people were against them and became scared. " Che's caring for villagers and peasants, in contrast, brings him support. The movie is made fascinating by the timeline shifts, Che speaking at the UN after the revolution has been won, interspersed with the revolutionary fighting. Steven Soderbergh is the director with Peter Buchman writing the screenplay based on Che Guevara's Memoir, Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. Benicio del Toro's portrayal of Che is superb. I'm now looking forward to renting PART 2 another night. It's an extraordinary story made poignant by the continued exposure of CIA support of the worst kinds of dictators even to this day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara