Che

CHE (2008) - Sept. 12, 2008
A sprawling, four-and-a-half hour epic about Ernesto "Che" Guevara -- the first half dealing with his successful revolution in Cuba, and the second half dealing with his not-so-successful revolution in Bolivia. There is little doubt that this is seriously overlong -- each half probably could have benefited from half an hour to an hour's worth of cutting -- but I'm definitely glad to have experienced this on the big screen. Despite its endurance-test running time, I was certainly never bored, and many sequences were downright riveting. It helps that Benicio Del Toro gives a powerhouse performance as Che, turning him into someone we really come to care about and identify with. The same can't really be said about the supporting characters, unfortunately, who are all pretty much interchangeable, and whose motivations are mostly hazy at best. This is probably due at least somewhat to the movie's steadfast naturalism -- this is not a movie that spoon-feeds the viewer anything, instead aiming for a very gritty, documentary-like vibe. This approach actually works really well, making the film feel pretty unique among other epics of the same ilk. ***