Che The Argentine
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Fri 6 February 2009 // 20:00
(Fri 6th & Sun 8th - Wed 11th / 8pm / £4/3/2ttt)
(Steven Soderbergh / 2008 / France/Spain/USA / 126 minutes / Cert 15)
The first part of Soderbergh's bio-pic focuses on Che Guevara's leadership in the jungle and town fighting that led up to the fall of Havana in the 1959, cut with scenes of him addressing the UN in New York in 1964. It's a film about the mental and physical demands of guerilla warfare and about Che discovering his natural abilities as a leader. Soderbergh skilfully mixes thrilling action scenes with quiet details. Benicio Del Toro gives a mesmerising performance in a role he seemed born to play; the sometimes ruthless, sometimes quiet and philosophical doctor turned revolutionary, whose passion was dampened by his chronic asthma.