Today’s Video: Remembering Ché

On this day in 1967 famed rebel Ernesto “Ché” Guevara was shot and executed by Bolivian forces.

The former Argentine doctor’s legacy lives on all these years later; to some, he was a revered revolutionary who fought for the rights of the oppressed. Yet others will claim that he served as Fidel Castro’s puppet and represented the anti-democratic virtues of communism.

Love him or loathe him, the myth of Ché soldiers on; an example of this will be an upcoming biopic directed by Steven Soderbergh. The trailer to the film- which stars Benicio del Toro in the titular role- can be seen below:

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, Time, BBC News

Critics mixed over “Che” film

Steven Soderbergh’s biopic on famed revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara was previewed for audiences at the renowned Cannes Film Festival. The Los Angles Times entertainment blog gave the opinions of several critics who discussed items like the film’s near five hour length and Benicio Del Toro playing the titular role.

Most of the reviews by the press of the film were mixed, as was evidenced by Guardian UK film critic Peter Bradshaw:

Perhaps it will even come to be seen as this director's flawed masterpiece: enthralling but structurally fractured…

This is all about Che the warrior, the ideologue, the public man. It is big, bold, ambitious film-making. Yet I was baffled that Soderbergh fought shy of so many key things in Che's life. Maybe he felt the spectacle of revolution incarnate was more compelling: a secular Passion play. Whatever the reason, Che is never boring and often gripping.

The “Che” biopic isn’t the only Latin American film making waves at Cannes. “Motorcycle Diaries” director Walter Salles has his own entry for the judges to watch, while a documentary on Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona is also being shown.

Sources - The Latin Americanist, Los Angeles Times, Guardian UK, The Offside

Image- New York Times

Che Guevara film early favorite for Cannes

A four-hour movie on famed revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is among the early favorites to win top honors at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film- directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benecio del Toro- was one of twenty movies selected in the main competition at Cannes.

Aside from the Guevara flick, other Latin Americans have made their presence known at the world-famous film fest:

The Latin American theme is strongly borne out in the rest of the main competition, in which there are two Argentinean films and a Brazilian one. The Brazilian director is Walter Salles, whose Motorcycle Diaries - about Che's youthful journey round Latin America by motorbike - was a contender in 2004. This year's offering is called Linha de Passe, about the lives of four brothers from a tough background in Sao Paulo who struggle to overcome their circumstances.

Films by Argentineans Pablo Trapero and Lucretia Martel complete the South American contingent; while Mexican Alfonso Cuarón (director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) will sit on the competition jury.

The 61^st edition of the Cannes Film Festival runs next month. If you’re a film buff in New York City this week, then try attending either the Tribeca Film Festival or “100% Venezuela” at NYU.

Image- BBC News (“The poster for this year's festival is adapted from a David Lynch photo.”)

Sources- Guardian UK. AFP, New York Times, The Latin Americanist