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The Argentine

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The Argentine
File:ElArgentinoPoster1.jpg
Cannes Film Festival poster
Directed bySteven Soderbergh
Written byPeter Buchman
Produced byLaura Bickford
Benicio del Toro
StarringBenicio del Toro
Franka Potente
Catalina Sandino Moreno
CinematographySteven Soderbergh
(as "Peter Andrews")
Edited byPablo Zumárraga
Music byAlberto Iglesias
Distributed byFocus Features
Running time
137 minutes
CountriesFrance
Spain
United States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish

The Argentine is a 2008 biopic about Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro as Che. The film covers the Cuban revolution, depicting how Guevara and other revolutionaries under the leadership of Fidel Castro, toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. The film comprises the first half of a two part examination of Guevara's revolutionary saga, with the second part Guerrilla, relating his attempt at revolution and eventual demise in Bolivia.

Both films were screened together at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, as one four hour motion picture entitled Che.

Development

Che's great movie material, is really what it comes down to. He had one of the most fascinating lives that I can imagine in the last century.

— Director Steven Soderbergh, [1]

While researching for both films, Soderbergh made a documentary with interviews with many who fought alongside Che in Cuba and Bolivia.[2] Originally, there was one screenplay but the director realized that it needed to be broken up into two films. The original source material for these scripts was Che's diary from the Cuban Revolution and from his time in Bolivia. From there, he drew on interviews with people who knew Che from both of those time periods and read every book available that pertained to both Cuba and Bolivia.[3]

Both films were financed without any American money or distribution deal and Soderbergh remarked, "It was very frustrating to know that this is a zeitgeist movie and that some of the very people who told me how much they now regret passing on Traffic passed on this one too".[4] Wild Bunch, a French production, distribution and foreign sales company put up 75% of the $61.5 million budget for the two films, tapping into a production and acquisition fund from financing and investment company Continental Entertainment Capitol, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Citigroup. Spain's Telecinco/Moreno Films suppling the rest of the budget.[5]

Soderbergh shot both films back to back over a 90-day period beginning in May 2007 with most of the dialogue in Spanish. According to an interview in Sight and Sound magazine, the original intention was that the first film "will be shot in 16mm anamorphic" because, "it needs a bit of Bruckheimer but scruffier".[4] Soderbergh ultimately opted to shoot both films on early models of the RED One rather than 16mm film, but otherwise kept to his plan of shooting the first film anamorphic, and the second with spherical lenses. The film was shot in Puerto Rico and, according to actor Edgar Ramirez who portrays Ciro Redondo, the cast "were improvising a lot" and describes the project as a "very contemplative movie", shot chronologically.[6]

Cast

File:DeltoroCHE.jpg
Del Toro as Che

Distribution

File:CheBritishPoster.jpg
Promotional "teaser" poster in England.

Ten minutes of excerpts from The Argentine were screened in Soderbergh's presence at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival with some buyers saying that it had "the makings of a modern classic".[7]

Both films were pre-sold to several major territories, including France, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Italy, Japan (Nikkatsu), and Twentieth Century Fox bought the Spanish theatrical and home video rights.[5] IFC Films acquired all North American rights to Che and will release it on December 12, 2008 in New York City and Los Angeles in order to qualify for the Academy Awards.[8] Afterwards, this roadshow version, complete with intermission, will re-open on January 9, 2009 in these two cities as two separate films, titled Che Part 1: The Argentine and Che Part 2: Guerrilla with ticket buyers paying approximately $25 each, including a full-color printed program.[9] The films will then be released in 25 markets beginning January 16 and 22 and will expand further after that. IFC will make the films available on January 21 through video on demand services on all major cable and satellite providers in both standard and high definition versions.[10]

Reception

Main article: Che film reception

The Argentine was shown as part of the combined feature Che at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, 46th New York Film Festival and 33rd Toronto Film Festival, where it was considered the "must-see" movie of the event.[11] The Argentine was shown separately at the 2008 Stockholm Film Festival where all 3 shows were sold out.

The Argentine, made its world premier on September 5, 2008, in Spain to mixed reviews. The conservative Spanish newspaper ABC critiqued the "flatness" of Del Toro's depiction of Che, while the left-wing daily El País noted that "Soderbergh tried to keep a distance which makes his film more didactic than political." In response to such criticisms, Soderbergh while unveiling the film in Madrid, declared that he was not seeking to "glorify" Che but rather show him "just as he was".[12]

Box office

The Argentine opened in Madrid, Spain on September 5, 2008 and grossed USD $2.5 million in its opening weekend.[13]

Awards

Benicio Del Toro was awarded the Prix d'interpretation masculine (or Best Actor) for his performance in both films and in his acceptance speech dedicated his award "to the man himself, Che Guevara and I want to share this with Steven Soderbergh. He was there pushing it even when there [were lulls] and pushing all of us".[14] Che's widow Aleida March, who is president of the Che Guevara Studies Center, sent a congratulatory note to del Toro upon hearing the news of his award.[15]

See also

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References

Notes

  1. ^ CNN Video Report by Phil Black: "Che Guevara, Superstar" Aired on May 29 2008
  2. ^ "Soderbergh plans Guevara double bill". The Guardian. October 31, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Che - Interview of Steven Soderbergh". ScreenRush. February 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b Taubin, Amy (March 2007). "Degraded Dupes Steven Soderbergh". Sight and Sound. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b Thompson, Anne (may 19, 2008). "Buyers waiting for Che". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "Edgar Ramirez talks about working on The Argentine and Guerrilla for Steven Soderbergh". Collider.com. February 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Hopewell, John (February 10, 2008). "Wild Bunch blazes sales trail". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Thompson, Anne (September 10, 2008). "Toronto Watch: Che Goes to IFC". Variety. Retrieved 2008-09-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Longworth, Karina (September 30, 2008). "Che Release Strategy". SpoutBlog. Retrieved 2008-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "IFC Films announces release plan for Che". IndependentFilm.com. November 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Howell, Peter (August 30, 2008). "TIFF's must-see films". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "Soderbergh film on Che Guevara has world premier in Spain" AFP, September 5 2008
  13. ^ Meza, Ed (August 13, 2008). "Che, Rocknrolla shake up Europe". Variety. Retrieved 2008-08-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (May 25, 2008). "Laurent Cantent's The Class Wins the Palme d'Or". indieWIRE. Retrieved 2008-05-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Che's Widow Congratulates P.Rican Actor Prensa Latina, May 29 2008


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