The Argentine

Infobox Film
name = The Argentine


caption = Cannes Film Festival poster
director = Steven Soderbergh
producer = Laura Bickford
Benicio del Toro
writer = Peter Buchman
starring = Benicio del Toro
Franka Potente
Catalina Sandino Moreno
music = Alberto Iglesias
cinematography = Steven Soderbergh
(as "Peter Andrews")
editing = Pablo Zumárraga
distributor = Focus Features
released =
runtime = 137 minutes
location = Puerto Rico
country = France
Spain
United States
language = English
Spanish
budget =
date =
preceded_by =
followed_by = "Guerrilla"
website = http://www.cheelargentino.com/
amg_id = 1:378812
imdb_id = 0892255

"The Argentine" is a 2008 film about Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro as Che. The film is in post-production, with a release date of 2008. Soderbergh plans to make two films about Che with the other called "Guerrilla". "The Argentine" will focus on the Cuban revolution, from the moment Fidel Castro, Guevara and other revolutionaries landed on the Caribbean island, until they toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista two years later. "Guerrilla" will focus on the years following the Cuban revolution. It will begin with Che's trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 1964, until his death in the Bolivian mountains in 1967.

Both films were screened together on May 21 at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival as one motion picture reportedly running over four hours entitled, "Che".cite news | last = Wells | first = Jeffrey | coauthors = | title = Lawrence of Latin America | work = The Huffington Post | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = April 28, 2008 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-wells/lawrence-of-latin-america_b_99302.html | accessdate = 2008-05-05 ]

Development

While researching for both films, Soderbergh made a documentary with interviews with many who fought alongside Che in Cuba and Bolivia.cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title = Soderbergh plans Guevara double bill | work = The Guardian | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = October 31, 2006 | url = http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1935821,00.html | accessdate = 2008-05-06 ] 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.cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title = "Che" - Interview of Steven Soderbergh | work = ScreenRush | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = February 13, 2007 | url = http://www.screenrush.co.uk/video/player_gen_cmedia=18722098&cfilm=53619.html | accessdate = 2008-05-06 ]

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".cite news | last = Taubin | first = Amy | coauthors = | title = Degraded Dupes Steven Soderbergh | work = Sight and Sound | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = March 2007 | url = http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49360 | accessdate = 2008-05-06 ] 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.cite news | last = Thompson | first = Anne | coauthors = | title = Buyers waiting for "Che" | work = Variety | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = may 19, 2008 | url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986069.html?categoryId=1061&cs=1 | accessdate = 2008-05-21 ]

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". 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.cite news | last = | first = Frosty | coauthors = | title = Edgar Ramirez talks about working on "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla" for Steven Soderbergh | work = Collider.com | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = February 10, 2008 | url = http://www.collider.com/entertainment/interviews/article.asp/aid/6916/tcid/1 | accessdate = 2008-02-11 ]

Cast

*Benicio del Toro plays Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Del Toro confessed he only thought of Guevara as a "bad guy" since he was a child. For the film he researched into the differing opinions on Guevara and travelled to Cuba where he met "tons of people that loved this man". He met Fidel Castro "for five minutes" and was told by him that he was happy for the research being undertaken. Del Toro, who speaks Puerto Rican Spanish, tried to speak the best Spanish he could without sounding "stiff". Regarding the brisk shoot, he stated, "my fingernails still have a little bit of dirt," a year later.cite news | last = Thomas | first = William | coauthors = | title = The Big Preview | work = Empire | pages = 104 | language = | publisher = | date = August 2008 | url = | accessdate = ]
* Benjamín Benítez as Harry "Pombo" Villegas
* Julia Ormond as Lisa Howard
* Franka Potente as Tamara Bunke
* Armando Riesco as Benigno
* Catalina Sandino Moreno as Aleida Guevara
* Demian Bichir as Fidel Castro
* Rodrigo Santoro as Raul Castro
* Santiago Cabrera as Camilo Cienfuegos
* Edgar Ramirez as Ciro Redondo
* Alfredo De Quesada as Israel Pardo
* Roberto Santana as Juan Almeida Bosque
* Victor Rasuk as Rogelio Acevedo

Reception

Ten minutes of excerpts from "The Argentine" were screened in Soderbergh's presence at 2008 Berlin Film Festival with some buyers saying that it had "the makings of a modern classic".cite news | last = Hopewell | first = John | coauthors = | title = Wild Bunch blazes sales trail | work = Variety | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = February 10, 2008 | url = http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1117981111 | accessdate = 2008-05-05 ] The film was screened with "Guerrilla" on May 21 at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival as one motion picture reportedly running over four hours entitled, "Che". Soderbergh has said that he would like to see both films released within a week of each other. The film is still without a U.S. distributor and Soderbergh would like to release the two-part, four-hour-plus film as one movie in limited December openings. Afterwards, the first part would be released in January and the second in February. The director has cut five to seven minutes from each half.cite news | last = Goldstein | first = Gregg | coauthors = | title = A Cannes of worms for indie films | work = The Hollywood Reporter | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = July 31, 2008 | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i9603a54f631ae7b033f83a4a62257dfe?pn=1 | accessdate = 2008-07-31 ]

"The Argentine" will be shown at the upcoming 33rd Toronto Film Festival and as "Che" with a 15 minute intermission.cite news | last = Thompson | first = Anne | coauthors = | title = Toronto fest adds 20 films to lineup | work = Variety | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = September 9, 2008 | url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117991880.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | accessdate = 2008-09-10 ]

Both films have been pre-sold to several major territories, including France, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Italy, Japan (Nikkatsu), and Twentieth Century Fox has buying the Spanish theatrical and home video rights.

Box office

"The Argentine" opened in Madrid, Spain on September 5, 2008 and grossed USD $2.5 million in its opening weekend.cite news | last = Meza | first = Ed | coauthors = | title = "Che", "Rocknrolla" shake up Europe | work = Variety | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = August 13, 2008 | url = http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1117990479 | accessdate = 2008-08-14 ]

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".cite news | last = Hernandez | first = Eugene | coauthors = Brian Brooks | title = Laurent Cantent's "The Class" Wins the Palme d'Or | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = indieWIRE | date = May 25, 2008 | url = http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2008/05/cannes_08_dispa_4.html | accessdate = 2008-05-25 ] 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. [ [http://www.prensa-latinaenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BDF642072-8FBD-4A32-85D7-C872A2F421DD%7D%29&language=EN Che's Widow Congratulates P.Rican Actor] Prensa Latina, May 29 2008]

ee also

*Guerrilla (film)
*Che!
*Che (film)
*Che Guevara in popular culture
*Legacy of Che Guevara
*The Motorcycle Diaries (film)

References

Notes

External links

*
*
* [http://www.cheelargentino.com/ Official international site]
* [http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=9012575 Official trailer] (in Spanish)
* [http://www.screenrush.co.uk/video/player_gen_cmedia=18722098&cpersonne=11732.html Steven Soderbergh] video Interview
* [http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=9c291cad-e96f-4fe7-9466-bc79d85153a8 "Del Toro Goes Guerrilla"] by Josh Grossberg at E! News
* [http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10803637.html "Che"] film details at the official Cannes Film Festival website
* [http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/01/04/first-look-steven-soderbergh%E2%80%99s-the-argentine-and-guerrilla/ /Film] "First Look: Steven Soderbergh’s "The Argentine" and "Guerrilla"
* [http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2348798420080525?feedType=RSS "Che More Informative Than Inspiring"] at "Reuters" May 24, 2008