Residents of New York and Los Angeles (and those with frequent flyer miles to burn) have until December 18th to catch Steven Soderbergh‘s epic Che Guevara biopic in one sitting. Featuring Benicio Del Toro in the Cannes Best Actor-winning title role, the film clocks in at 257 minutes and is currently being shown in two parts with a 30 minute intermission.
The first part of the film follows Che’s involvement with revolutionary forces in Cuba, which ultimately led to the overthrow of the US-backed Batista regime in 1958/59. The story of guerilla warfare is successfully balanced with scenes portraying Che’s visit to New York in 1964, where he addressed the United Nations as Cuba’s representative and participated in a number of interviews with foreign press. The film’s second part depicts Che’s attempt to bring a similar outcome to the people of Bolivia as he did in Cuba. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that things don’t work out as well for Che in this part of the film.
Che is screening at the Zeigfeld in New York and the Landmark in Los Angeles. A wider release in two parts will follow from January 9th, and the films will be available on demand through the Independent Film Channel from January 21st.
Image courtesy of IFC Films.
