Che! (1969)

Che!: Directed by Richard Fleischer. With Omar Sharif, Jack Palance, Cesare Danova, Robert Loggia. An intentionally noncommittal version of the Cuban revolution told through flashbacks, the film recounts Che’s switch from doctor to politico in Castro’s campaign.

“I saw this picture many years ago at its premiere and I never had a chance to see it again, but I would like to say something about it. First of all, Richard Fleischer is a distinguished director. See, for instance, u0026quot;The Vikingsu0026quot;, maybe the best adventure movie ever, or u0026quot;Compulsionu0026quot;, a thrilling and alluring criminal drama. The problem with u0026quot;Che!u0026quot; is that it deals with too many facts and subjects in the while of 80 or 90 minutes. A lot of things are kept off-screen. Besides,the actors are completely unsuitable and the screenplay is poor. Characters and History itself is unfold in a distorted manner; so that, people who know a bit about Cuban Revolution fall disappointed. The movie grows better in the second half when Che tries to lead a guerrilla party in Bolivia. I still remember the last sequence showing a bedraggled and crippled Guevara, minutes before his decease, sitting on the floor of a schoolroom. A Bolivian Army officer calls in a village goat-herder , points towards wretched Guevara and asks the peasant : u0026quot;Canu0026#39;t you see ? he has come here to free you!u0026quot; The herder seems astonished, stares at the two men for a while and utters at last :u0026quot;To free me ??? Since these people have shown up, shooting haphazardly, the goats have grown frightened , their milk dried and we have nothing to feed our children! So … is this to free us ?u0026quot; Next, Guevara raises and walks lamely towards the wall outside the door. Before him a firing squad is waiting. I donu0026#39;t know why, but I always fancy Guevarau0026#39;s last stand as depicted in this ill-fated flick.”