Che: Part One
Short description
Che: Part One follows Ernesto Guevara, an Argentine doctor who joins Fidel Castro's rebel movement and helps lead the fight to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The story covers the period from the mid-1950s, when Guevara first connects with Cuban exiles, through the guerrilla campaign in Cuba's mountains and cities, where he becomes a committed fighter and earns the nickname Che. The film is the first half of Steven Soderbergh's two-part account of Guevara's life.
Soderbergh directed from a screenplay by Peter Buchman, with Benicio del Toro starring as Guevara and also producing alongside Laura Bickford and Pilar Benito. Demián Bichir plays Fidel Castro, Santiago Cabrera appears as Camilo Cienfuegos, and Vladimir Cruz, Alfredo de Quesada and Jsu Garcia are among the credited cast. Released in 2008, it was Soderbergh's fifteenth film as director, following Ocean's Thirteen, and it was made as a companion piece to Che: Part Two, which followed the same year. The production, a Spanish, American and French co-production, cost about 35 million dollars and took roughly the same amount worldwide.
On IMDb, the film holds 7.1 out of 10 from around 50,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.8 out of 10 from about 854 votes. A critics' rating of 6.8 out of 10, based on 138 reviews, is close to the TMDB audience score and slightly below the IMDb figure, suggesting a generally favourable but not unanimous response. At 134 minutes, the film shares its focus between Guevara's political awakening and the armed struggle itself.
What's left behind the scenes
- Scenes with Che in the UN building were filmed two years before the start of principal photography. Producer Laura Bickford learned that the building was scheduled for renovation and organized the filming of Che Guevara’s speech. These are the only scenes in the entire film shot on 16mm film; all other footage was shot using digital cameras.
- In one scene, Che grabs a bazooka from a comrade and destroys a barracks with his first shot. Initially, it was planned that Che would first miss and hit the barracks only on the second attempt, but daylight was running out, and the cinematographer convinced director Steven Soderbergh to remove the miss from the script.
- Initially, the plot, limited to Che's attempts to start a revolution in Bolivia, was being filmed by Terrence Malick, but he left the project due to funding problems, and Steven Soderbergh eventually took his place as director.
- Benicio del Toro spent seven years studying archival materials on the life of Ernesto Che Guevara (1928-1967) while preparing for the role.
- Benicio del Toro suggested Ryan Gosling for the role of Benigno “Ben” Ramirez. In preparation for the role, Gosling met with the character’s real-life counterpart and learned some Spanish, but excessively lengthy preparation for filming ultimately forced him to leave the project.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
