Review: Che Pt. 2 (Guerrilla)

Che Pt. 2: Guerrilla (2008)
starring: Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Norman Santiago, Joaquim de Almeida
dir. Steven Soderbergh

Even though Mr. Soderbergh has intended Che to be one giant epic and has been shown as such in an original roadshow, the general audiences will see (theatrically) Che in two separate parts. Personally, I think it works because part one feels like a complete movie, as does part two. Both films portray a full story arc one being about the process of victory, the other being about the brutal process of defeat.

Guerrilla is about Che's Bolivia campaign. His drive to continue the revolution, even though the people of Bolivia are in no place yet to want revolution. The entire film feels like jumping out of an airplane and looking up to see giant holes in your parachute. You're falling too fast, you're looking for ways to make this a successful jump, but the closer you get to the ground, odds are you're gonna die. Almost right out of the gate you get the sense this is not going to be a positive experience for Guevara. Knowing any of the history, you know it's going to end in his death, but it's the process of getting there that is so painful. He keeps moving forward despite all of the signs that show it's not going well. Just like the first film, it doesn't matter what your beliefs about Guevara are, to watch a man of passionate beliefs fight, kill and die for those beliefs is pretty damned riveting.

Del Toro is still brilliant in this half, it is an inspired performance. A highlight, much like the first, is him meeting another doctor. In this film, instead of the moment dealing with giving up his past trade, this moment carries a certain intimacy and sense of loss of who he once was. There is almost a sense of reverence he has for the doctor. It is a shining moment that is pulled off with subtlety and all done in a single wide shot. Just watching Del Toro look up and take the doctors hand in friendship carries a weight and certain transcendence.

The new add to the cast this time around is a great Franka Potente as Tania. She's the connection to the outside world that ends up being more of a determent by the end of the film. I can't praise the talent of Potente enough. In a short career, she's proven herself over and over again. A native German actress, she's played a California girl, Armenian mob boss, now a revolutionary and all are seamless. She's a chameleon except when she gives that warm smile that is inescapable. She is a real talent who is a welcome addition to any movie she is in.

This time around, Soderbergh goes with a different style even though he continues to keep his distance. His use of handheld and smaller frame in this chapter of Guevara's story gives a sense of breakdown and decay that is taking place around him. Again, Soderbergh does not look to manipulate or fore a perspective that sides the audience against or for Che, but lets us decide for ourselves. This is a historical look, not a subjective look, given one brief exception.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying Che is executed after capture. There is a moment when the entire set of visual rules are broken and it is this one shot that brings the films home and lets us see, feel, think about everything that has taken place before. For something so simple, it is an incredibly powerful shot.

These films have been criticized for being cold and I don't believe that. they just isn't telling you how to feel. In a world where almost every movie cues us on when to cry, when to cheer or who to jeer at, this is a very welcome change.

9.5 out of 10