che - part one (2009) & che - part two (2009)

this afternoon i had the privilage of seeing steven soderbergh's epic biography of eduardo ''che'' guevara in one piece on the big screen. the entire film lasts just under 5 hours, and features a 15 minute scored intermission and credit booklet.

five hours for a single feature is a new record theatrically for myself, yet the hours flew by. in fact i would actually compare it favourably to the running time of "australia" in a way, as both are big screen epics that iv seen recently.

benicio del toro is amazing in the title role, to put it simply. he embodies the character, and indeed the figure in a way that i cant imagine anyone else doing so. why there hasnt been as much acclaim im not sure, its one of the strongest lead roles iv seen in a long time. in terms of differences in the character between the two films, che is much more prominent in the first part, whereas hes slightly more in the background in the second. i like to think of the first film as the introduction to the character, both literally and figuritively, whereas the second one explores the influence of the man, again both literally and figuritively. the supporting cast is as epic as the running time, with all proving worthy counterparts to del toro, with santiago cabrera proving a bit of a stand out as one of che's cuban comrades. an appearance from matt damon as a middle aged german preacher proved popular too.

"che" is soderbergh's return to form, after a pretty poor 8 year run (his last truly great film being 2000's "traffic", incidently del toro's finest role to date). drawing comparisons to pontecorvo's "the battle of algiers", alongside the work of terrence malick, the film (s) proves a real joy, is genuinely exhilerating and the first of what is looking to be a great first month of 2009.

traffic (2000)

steven soderbergh's "traffic" is possibly the last of a kind. its one of the final films that focussed on the US government's "war on drugs" prior to the events of the ninth of september 2001, whereby terrorism officially became the states' first port of call when it came to protecting its citizens. a concept explored deeply in television show "the wire", the idea that the the national drug problem hasnt been much of a priority since the towers came down rings true in hollywood at least, where sprawling epics based on the subject are now fairly uncommon. the likes of the abysmal "crash" (the haggis deadweight, not cronenberg's masterpiece) now take its place, pushing the emphasis on human nature as opposed to high crime. which is a shame, as "traffic" is pretty much the best thing both the director and cast of the film have ever done.

the strongest section of the film takes place in mexico, at the source of both the drugs that move the story along as well as the bookends for the film. benecio del toro leads the mexico sections, draped in drawn out yellows, part of the concept that dictates each section of the film is exhibited in a different colour (with michael douglas' scenes as the government minister shot in cold blue hues), wherein the gritty reality of the drugs trade is revealed, through a combination of torture, corruption and political clarity. catherine zeta jones leads the california sections of the film, as the wife of a local businessman who is found to be a key player in the importation of drugs, who's own downward spiral correlates with the narrative flow. and while im not generally a fan, michael douglas is genuinely great in the aforementioned role, as the government representitive on drugs, who's own daughter is a drug user herself. coincidence or what? the supporting cast, filled by class acts such as don cheadle and luis guzman are great, and while there's many a famous face in the supporting cast its never particularly distracting.

"traffic" has aged amazingly well, much in the same vain as the political conspiracy films of the seventies such as "all the presidents men", in the respect that they both represent an area of society widely ignored.

the limey (1999)

terrence stamp plays the limey of the title in steven soderbergh's low key post-modern homage to the british popular culture of the 1960's and the revenge genre. watching this so soon after godard's french new wave piece "pierrot le fou" opened my eyes to the great influence the movement clearly had on this film. the style and tone are very similiar, structure wise especially (though the comparisons to earlier godard work may be fairer).

the most notable feature of "the limey" is its use of editing. the unique way in which the flashbacks and flashforwards compliment and dictate the story is very interesting, and manages to portray a hidden segment of the characterisation that would otherwise be hidden, or even missing.

solaris (2002)

steven soderbergh's often frowned upon remake of the tarkovsky classic was given a recent viewing, in light of the upcoming release of "che" next month. while its not the marvel that is the original 1972 film, it is actually rather interesting, at least as an example of soderbergh trying a different genre. over the next week or so im going to watch a few more soderbergh films, in the shape of ''the limey'' (one i havent seen) and ''traffic'' (one i havent seen since its theatrical release), alongside the previous ''out of sight''.

out of sight

being my first steven soderbergh experience i didnt know what to expect when i first saw 'out of sight', back during the dawn of dvd back in 1999. i picked the film up at the recommendation of a colleague at the time, he being the sole other dvd player owner that i knew back then. its difficult to explain the sheer exhileration that came with each and every dvd that i picked up back then, an impossible thing to explain now that the format is the most successful home entertainment platform of all time. alas, i was dubious of seeing 'out of sight' at first, the credentials of its cast being enough to cast doubt (clooney was fresh off of 'batman and robin' at the time, while jennifer lopez was, well, jennifer lopez) over the apparent quality of the picture. i was pleased to find that not only was i wrong to make such assumptions, but i was ridiculously wrong.

the shifting of time feels innovative, despite it being de-rigeur at the time of production to rely on such gimmicks, and the film has a none-too-shaky -cam handheld style that compliments proceedings well. and wouldnt you know it, clooney and lopez are both great in their roles. its since become apparent that clooney wasnt the clown that the misfire that was 'batman and robin' suggested, and miss lopez has seemingly all but disappeared, leaving not very much to be aspired.