Chè: Part One and Chè: Part Two (Steven Soderbergh, 2008)
Practically an $65 million experimental film, or at least a conceptual art object above all else. First half is the more conventional of the two, with a genuinely rousing climax. It’s probably necessary for context, but I could have done without the interview segments and UN speechifying—too familiar from a thousand other biopics. Second half is repetitive and punishing—the evil twin of the first half. It’s hagiography to some extent, but the character of Chè is never (by design, of course) illuminated beyond the “symbol of the revolution” referenced in the first half. He often disappears into the background in the first part, and the second part exists almost wholly to show the limits of his charisma. Technically, it’s par for the course for Soderbergh—nice cinematography (it’s excellent-looking DV), crisp editing, the image somehow coming off as simultaneously well-composed and off the cuff. Part One could probably be enjoyed on its own; Part Two not so much. Part One: 64, Part Two: 60
