The trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion was released today, and it looks pretty bad ass.

Soderbergh is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting directors working today.  He’s got one of the best ensemble casts of the year working on his side as well.  The pandemic premise is done frequently, and can be done well (28 Days Later comes to mind).  I, for one, feel free to keep my expectations high for this one.

Che: Part 2 starts out explaining that one day, shortly after Castro came into power, Che simply disappeared.  No one, not even his wife knew exactly where he was, or what happened.  An understandably troubled Cuba was comforted by the reading of a personal letter from Che to Fidel that explained it was time for him to leave Cuba to help a different oppressed people.  The film skips to one year later.  Che, with the use of fake teeth and the impression of male pattern baldness, sneaks into the country of Bolivia as a special representative of the Organization of American States.  Only a few of his most trusted men are informed of his real identity, fearing that a revolution led by a foreigner would not be well supported.  He begins organizing a guerrilla troops to overthrow the Bolivian government that denied their citizens the most basic necessities.  A small amount of time is also dedicated to throwing punches at the US involvement with the Bolivian government at the time.  Just for good measure I’m sure.

The look, feel and tone of the film perfectly matches part one (this is understandable since it used to be one movie).  However, Che’ part two is much darker.  It’s the story of truly great revolutionary slowly being beat down.  The film is brilliantly shot, capturing beautiful and harsh landscapes, intimately detailing the life of a guerrilla (Soderbergh played cinematographer as well).  While part two is slightly more dramatic than part one, it still suffers from a lack of tension.  You don’t quite feel the struggle that the characters, and the countries they are fighting for experience.  This flaw is corrected in the last twenty five minutes that will capture every viewer’s attention.  It’s this ending that makes the four hours worth it.  Benjamin A. van der Veen assisted Peter Buchman (who wrote the screenplay for part one) in writing part two’s script. Del Toro’s performance is terrific, but even more impressive and inspirational, is Che’s life, and belief that all deserve human rights.  You’ll be enraptured with him until the credits start rolling.  Somewhat confusing is the 90 second cameo of Matt Damon playing a German priest insisting the guerrillas take their fight somewhere else.  Up until that point, I felt like I was in Bolivia with these men, and all of the sudden, Matt Damon walks on the set.  It completely disrupted the film’s realism.  Not to mention the constant appearance of Franka Potente (who played Jason Bourne’s girlfriend).  This misstep aside, the film is nearly flawless.  Hats off to Mr. Soderbergh for having the huevos to make such a beast of a film.

4 out of 4 stars

This first part follows Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara as goes from an Argentine doctor, to Cuban revolutionary in the mid-1950s.  Guevara played a huge part in overthrowing the tyrannical Batista regime, as well as making way for a new dictator: Fidel Castro.  Even though the film centers around Guevara, the film is almost more about Cuban geography and the art of guerrilla warfare (focusing on indoctrination, recruitment, training exercises, political posturing, etc., etc.).  As a period piece, it’s terrific.  The look and feel of the movie is just right.  At least it feels just right to white, north westerner who’s never participated in jungle warfare.

Steven Soderbergh deserves special praise here as he continues to defy all definition or categorization.  His range is one of the most versatile of anyone out there.  No one can forget his indie beginnings with Sex, Lies and Videotapes, his attempt to improve (really Steven?) on Tarkovsky’s Solaris, and perhaps most infamously, his remakes of the Rat Pack Ocean movies.  Che seems to be a completely new genre for Soderbergh, but it doesn’t show for a second.  Any semi-conscious viewer won’t be able to avoid the realism.  The film was adapted for the big screen from Guevara’s own memoirs by Peter Buchman (Jurassic Park III, Eragon).   I wouldn’t call this a powerhouse performance by Benicio Del Toro (as Che), but his ability to complex layers to this polarized historical figure was impressive.  His emotional range requires brutality, intelligence, mercy, and kindness.

The film is interspersed with flash forwards of Che’s visit to the UN (filmed in grainy black and white).  It’s a jaring site, seeing a man so brutal calling it like it is in front of the world.  It’s this promised reward that makes the film worth seeing: the journey of a man from your average Argentine, to inspirational leader to millions.  If nothing else, it’s an interesting character study that feels more like a documentary, and Soderbergh deserves credit for thoroughly introducing us to this enigmatic man.  The pacing is a little on the slow side, and sometimes the plot meanders a little, but Che: Part One is worth the effort.

3 out of 4 stars