📝 Synopsis
Overview
Steven Soderbergh's Che: Part One is an ambitious, unconventional, and immersive biographical drama that chronicles a pivotal chapter in 20th-century history. Released in 2008 as the first half of a two-part epic (alongside Che: Part Two), the film focuses on the rise of the iconic revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, played by Benicio Del Toro. Rather than presenting a traditional cradle-to-grave biography, Soderbergh employs a bifurcated narrative structure, intercutting the central story of the Cuban Revolution with Che's landmark 1964 visit to the United Nations in New York. The result is a detailed, procedural, and often gritty examination of guerrilla warfare and political ideology, more interested in the "how" than the "why" of revolution. With its documentary-like aesthetic and deliberate pacing, the film demands engagement, offering a complex portrait of a man transforming from an Argentine doctor into a global symbol.
Plot Synopsis (NO SPOILERS)
The narrative of Che: Part One unfolds across two distinct timelines, woven together to provide context and contrast. The primary, and most extensive, thread follows Ernesto "Che" Guevara as he joins Fidel Castro and a small band of rebel exiles in Mexico in 1956. The film meticulously details their perilous landing in Cuba and their arduous, two-year military campaign in the Sierra Maestra mountains against the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. This section is presented as a near-clinical study of guerrilla insurgency, showcasing the daily struggles of recruitment, training, combat, and survival. We see Che not just as a fighter but as a strategist, a medic, and a disciplinarian who helps shape the rebel force's cohesion and ideological purpose.
Interspersed with these battlefield sequences are black-and-white scenes set in 1964. Here, Che Guevara, now a celebrated figure and a Cuban government minister, is in New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly. This timeline is structured around a lengthy interview with a journalist, played by Julia Ormond, where Che reflects on the revolution, defends Cuba's path, and engages in sharp, polemical exchanges with the American press. These scenes serve as a intellectual and political counterpoint to the visceral, muddy reality of the jungle war, framing the revolution's aftermath and Che's emergence as a controversial international icon.
Cast and Characters
Central Performance
Benicio Del Toro delivers a monumental, Cannes Best Actor-winning performance as Che Guevara. He embodies the character with a compelling mix of quiet intensity, intellectual rigor, and physical authenticity. His Che is less a fiery orator and more a focused, observant, and sometimes severe practitioner of revolution. Del Toro masterfully conveys the character's asthma as a constant, humanizing vulnerability he must overcome, adding a layer of palpable struggle to his leadership.
Supporting Revolutionaries
Demián Bichir portrays Fidel Castro with a commanding presence, capturing his charismatic leadership and strategic mind. Santiago Cabrera plays the brave and loyal guerrilla Camilo Cienfuegos. Rodrigo Santoro appears as another revolutionary figure, contributing to the ensemble feel of the rebel camp. The cast, including many Latin American actors, lends authenticity to the struggle, portraying the rebels not as mythical heroes but as determined, often weary, individuals.
The Interviewer
Julia Ormond, as the journalist Lisa Howard, provides the crucial narrative device for the 1964 segments. Her intelligent and probing questions challenge Che and force him to articulate his views to a Western audience, serving as a stand-in for the skeptical international community.
Director and Style
Director Steven Soderbergh approaches the material with a radical, anti-glamorous aesthetic. His style is defined by a stark, almost documentary realism. For the Cuban sequences, he uses lush, widescreen photography and a restless, handheld camera that places the viewer directly in the humid, chaotic environment of the guerrilla campaign. The combat scenes are chaotic and unheroic, emphasizing confusion and tactical movement over clear-cut action.
The 1964 New York scenes are shot in contrasting grainy black-and-white, creating a formal, media-saturated atmosphere of press conferences and diplomatic halls. Soderbergh famously served as his own cinematographer (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) and editor (as Mary Ann Bernard), giving the film a cohesive, personal vision. The pacing is deliberate and episodic, avoiding grand speeches or sentimental moments in favor of accumulating detail. This style refuses to canonize or demonize its subject, instead presenting a fragmented, multifaceted portrait that requires active interpretation from the audience.
Themes and Impact
Che: Part One grapples with profound themes of revolution, ideology, and iconography. It is fundamentally about the process of insurrection—the grueling, unromantic work of building a movement from nothing. Themes of discipline, sacrifice, and the relationship between military success and political idealism are central. The film explores the making of a legend, juxtaposing the man in the jungle with the symbol at the UN, asking the viewer to reconcile the two.
The film's impact lies in its challenging nature. It was a commercial risk—a four-hour-plus, Spanish-language epic released in a unique roadshow format. It polarized critics and audiences; some praised its rigor and artistry, while others found it emotionally cold and historically narrow. As a piece of cinema, it stands as a bold experiment in biographical storytelling, rejecting hagiography for a more granular, ambiguous, and intellectually stimulating portrait. It forces a consideration of Che Guevara not merely as a T-shirt image, but as a complex historical actor.
Why Watch
Watch Che: Part One if you seek a demanding, intelligent, and visually striking historical drama that trusts its audience. It is essential viewing for students of cinema attracted to Steven Soderbergh's formal experimentation and for those interested in a boots-on-the-ground depiction of guerrilla warfare. Benicio Del Toro's performance alone is a masterclass in immersive acting. This is not a film that provides easy answers or emotional catharsis; instead, it offers an immersive experience into a specific time, place, and state of mind. It functions best when viewed as one half of Soderbergh's complete diptych, with Che: Part Two, which details his later campaign in Bolivia, providing a stark and fatalistic counterpoint. Together, they form a monumental, if challenging, meditation on the life, methods, and enduring myth of one of modern history's most iconic figures.