The Argentine (2008) Director Steven Soderbergh Writer Peter Buchman (screenplay) Actors Benicio Del Toro – Ernesto Che Guevara Santiago Cabrera – Camilo Cienfuegos Demián Bichir – Fidel Castro Kahlil Mendez – Urbano Rodrigo Santoro – Raúl Castro

Toronto International Film Festival Press Screening – September 8th 2008

The Argentine (2008)

I’ve heard this many times already about Benicio Del Toro but I will go on to reiterate it here if only because it is a piece of praise that is completely true. Del Toro deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance as the Argentine Che GuevaraGuevara. However after checking out both halves of Che back to back at this year’s TIFF, I am not expecting the majority of audiences to give Che a very warm reception.

Che Guevera is paint in a very warm light with a portrayal by Benicio Del Toro that makes him endearing and sympathetic. A young doctor from Argentina, Che, allies himself with Fidel over dinner and this brings about the beginning of theguerrillaGuevaraguerrillauerilla movement against the American backed leader Batista. Of course the rest of the story is in history books and to try to repeat it would either ruin the film’s experience or even more likely I’d just be inaccurate and make an ass of myself. The first half (on it’s own entitled ‘The Argentine’) shows the rise and ultimate victory of the Cuban people over Batista while the film is intercut with Che’s trip to New York in 1964 which includes his appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation and his speech at the United Nations.

Steven Soderbergh shoots the film beautifully(and with a Red One camera) as he fills the screen with pristine beautiful golden hues that contrast greatly with the high contrast black and white images filled with grain.

The scale of this film is just immense as for some reason or another I was expecting a very tiny personal tale of Che Guevera which is pretty much true for most of the film but instead when they make the final push in Cuba you have this grandiose guerilla battle against Batista’s standing army with building exploding and tanks rolling down the street.

Whether or not you agree with Soderbergh’s interpretation of the events you can’t help but appreciate Del Toro’s performance or the skills used in crafting this film.

Related Posts:

1. Guerrilla (2008)
2. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. POP: The Olympics are a Trap
5. The X Files: I want to Believe (2008)

Tags: Argentine, Benicio Del Toro, Che, Cuba, Review, Steven Soderbergh, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival