Review of Che: Part One (2008) by Richard R — 11 May 2009

As a Soderbergh fan, this review may be slightly skewered towards the critically positive aspects, but I doubt many can deny that Che: Part One (The Argentine) is masterfully directed and a very absorbing piece of work.

Benicio Del Toro returns to the acting standards he produced for Soderbergh's Traffic (2000) almost a decade ago (when he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), by brilliantly showing us his interpretation of one of the most famous faces in T-Shirt history lol.

..Ernesto 'Che' Guevara is the Argentine revolutionary who joined Cuban General Fidel Castro's daring coup upon dictator Fulgencio Batista in Cuba circa 1956. He is portayed here as a professional man, honourable and methodical, a hero with good strategy, depth, strength and leadership.

His appeal today is as wide and far reaching as any of the great men we know of: John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, John Lennon....due to his decision to take it right to 'The Man', and provide a better democratic platform for the people of a country.

Soderbergh manipulates the texture of the film as time flips between the past and present, then back again. Some parts are put to screen in a documentary style, as though by handheld camera...a technique which the director has successfully toyed with since his cult drama Sex, Lies & Videotape (1989).