Details
Movie Description
Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh delivers this ambitious and sprawling biopic of one of the 20th century's most influential political figures. In the first 137-minute segment, THE ARGENTINE, we meet Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Benicio Del Toro), a young Argentinean doctor who teams up with Fidel Castro on a dangerous mission: to overthrow the corrupt Cuban dictatorship run by Fulgencio Batista. Che's commitment to the cause impresses everyone around him, and soon he is one of the leaders of this burgeoning guerrilla movement. Against all odds, Castro, Che, and their undermanned forces charge forward, conquering Batista's forces on their way to an expected showdown with the man himself.
Soderbergh films this first segment--a battle that everyone knows Che is going to win--with beautiful widescreen photography, like a Hollywood epic from yesteryear. Composer Alberto Iglesias accompanies this imagery with a sweeping orchestral score. Soderbergh intercuts the primary story of the revolution with Che's 1964 appearance at the United Nations in New York City, recreating that event in documentary-like black-and-white. However, as impressive as these technical attributes are, it is Del Toro who steals the show. He inhabits Che in a way that feels like he isn't just acting. THE ARGENTINE is an inspiring tale of a man whose fierce determination and unflinching spirit turned him into a hero to disadvantaged people throughout the world.
Industry Reviews
4 stars out of 5 -- "A plush mix of epic movie staples -- a well-known historical story, exotic locations, precise period details, a larger-than-life leading man and a colorful cast of supporting characters -- reveals a new side to veteran filmmaker Steven Soderbergh."
Box Office - Steve Ramos (11/01/2008)
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[N]o one who cares about organic film acting will want to miss del Toro's magnificent performance, his hooded eyes reflecting wells of idealism and torment. Del Toro keeps you riveted."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (11/27/2008)
"Benicio del Toro is persuasive as the fiercely ethical firebrand, in a film that includes unusual and unfamiliar chapters in Che's life."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/05/2008)
"[E]xtraordinary and challenging....Soderbergh has shot Part One in widescreen, with an emphasis on meticulously composed tableaux and medium shots."
Los Angeles Times - Sheri Linden (12/11/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "It's a biopic, but not in the conventional sense: Soderbergh favours a focus on specific chapters over a life's arc, meticulously accreting details that demand and repay audience attention."
Total Film - Kevin Harley (01/01/2009)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Del Toro's performance is as beautifully enigmatic as that Alberto Kordo photo reproduced on T-shirts around the world....[With] one of the great battle sequences of modern cinema."
Empire - Empire Staff (02/01/2009)
"Benicio Del Toro plays Guevara with an artful blend of steeliness and passion..."
New York Times - Claudia Puig (01/10/2008)
"[I]t's full of exacting panoramas of strategy and combat set in the mountainous jungles of Cuba and Bolivia....The first half of CHE is a genuine achievement."
Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman (01/16/2009)
"[A] mesmerizing, fully immersive cinematic experience....In this sprawling yet surprisingly taut retelling of Guevara's life during the Cuban revolution and his ill-fated attempt to bring the fight to Bolivia, he comes into sharp, sympathetic focus..."
Washington Post (01/23/2009)
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