Just weeks after Benicio Del Toro first hit theaters as Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Steven Soderbergh's epic about the legendary revolutionary continues with "Che - Guerrilla".
The second film focuses on the period after the overthrow in Cuba, when Che goes into hiding in Bolivia to continue the revolution there. In his fight against the government of President Barrientos, Guevara receives energetic support from the likes of foreign sympathizer Tanja (Franka Potente) and writer Regis Derbay (Marc-André Grondin). But unlike in Cuba, the support from the population is rather small and again and again Guevara is confronted with disagreements within his troop. And so it is only a matter of time before the morale of the guerrillas sinks to a level that brings fatal mistakes...
"Che - Guerrilla" is again very well acted, but overall this second part is a single disappointment. This is because the film lacks a clear narrative structure even more than its predecessor. Rather, Soderbergh casts an uncommented view of events, with events seemingly strung together at random. The individual characters, apart from Che Guevara, remain so superficial that the viewer finds it extremely difficult to tell them apart. And after a few scenes of cultivated boredom, the viewer doesn't care at all.
Without any dramaturgical climax, the story ripples along until the all-too-familiar ending. For two hours, men march through the countryside, there are one or two conflicts, a handful of gripping moments, a mini-appearance by Matt Damon and an intense ending. But first and foremost the film offers boredom packaged as art, which will probably attract even fewer visitors to the cinemas than the much better first part. Therefore: only very conditionally worth seeing!
Original title: Che- Guerrilla
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Length: approx. 133 min.
FSK: age 12+
Ein Artikel von Frankfurt-Tipp
