Fidel (2002)

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 05/22/2007 Run time: 206 minutes Rating: Nr Product Description

Pretty exhausting sweep through Cuban history: "Fidel"

This 2000 3 part mini-series on the life and times of Fidel Castro, 40+ ruler/dictator in Cuba, is excellent and exhausting at the the same time. From 1949 Havana through the 1959 Revolution clear up to 2000 when Castro is poised to hand over control of the country to his brother (which just happened), director David Attwood covers an immense amount of ground, people, places, countries that, as far as I know and recall, is accurate historically. Attwood, shows us the man as the idealist who himself becomes the very embodiment of what he so much disliked-a dictator. The film is very fair in showing the accomplishments and the obvious failures, the love of the "little man" and the forgotten promises, and the openness of ideas to "off with their heads" mentality. Depending on which side you are on, you might feel there is a bias,which I could understand; but I honestly feel that this SHOWTIME series did it's level best to present an honest yet conflicted man who deposed a leader and set himself up as ruler.

Why three stars? There is an awful lot of information that gets thrown at you and glossed over in it's treatment, especially in the last hour of the film. The screenplay lurches forward, bouncing time zones, and you best be prepared. The only other problem that I saw, is that the entire production has that "made-for-T.V." look about it- very staged, and low-budget looking, especially in the scenes with lots of "extras" who chant "Fidel" and raise their placards. The series uses Latino actors speaking in a broken English. I can't help but wonder if the entire film would have been more effective if the actors had performed in their first tongue which would have given more dynamic to the piece. I noticed that especially with Gael Garcia Bernal, who played Che Guevara here in English, then played him in Spanish with far more lasting effect in The Motorcycle Diaries (Widescreen Edition).

One last note: I first watched this on VHS which is only 140 minutes and severely edited. The DVD contains the entire 206 minute running time. I actually would have been okay with the 140 minute version because the additional hour only stretches things out more with no added info except more time.

For other David Attwood mini-dramas, check out To the Ends of the Earth. April 4, 2008

Brilliant, Sensible, Noteworthy, First-Rate, Truth in Your Face

I come to this movie as the son of an oilman, with 30 years spent all over the world, flying around the world at the age of 16 alone, and then moved on to the Marine Corps, the CIA, and other stuff. Over-all, I have spent close to 15 years in Latin America.

Bottom line: Fidel kicks US ass while also being a mixed blessing for the Cuban society.

There are an awful lot of individuals in denial, but the raw facts are these:

1) Castro overthrew a dictator that sold out the Cubans to US companies.

2) The US did everything in its (impotent) power to assassinate him while also imposing a brutal and probably illegal embargo on Cuba.

3) Now that we are all conscicous about both sustainability and health:

++++ SURPRISE: Cuba and the Amish are the TWO--the only two--models for sustainable development; and

++++ SURPRISE: Cuba not only has better health care than the US, but they can afford to send 10,000 doctors to Venezuela.

This is a great movie that Americans should watch, but will no5.

As a fine side note, the Bay of Pigs, an operation that was ill-conceived and badly supported, drove Fidel into Kruschev's arms, and led to the Soviet effort to install nuclar ballistic missiles in Cuba.

I do not believe in socialism and top-down elite control, which both the US and Cuba suffer from, but I do believe there is a third way between the US, Cuba-Venezuela, Costa Rica, and others. We are close to being able to use the Internet for digital deliberative dialog and real-time science as well as real-time decision-support.

If I had the ear of an honorable intelligent President, I would create a special envoy for Cuba and Venezuela, and find a way to create a Western Hemisphere Prosperity & Peace initiative with Venezuelan oil, Cuban health care, and US communications technology brought together.

CRYSTAL CLEAR: The US has been the rogue elephant. ENOUGH.

El Pueblo Avanca!

See also:
The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025
Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century
War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General, Two Other Anti=Interventionist Tracts, and Photographs from the Horror of It
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Someone Would Have Talked: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Conspiracy to Mislead History
Why We Fight
The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
Sicko (Special Edition) February 11, 2008

Fidel by Victor Huggo Martin

Most excellent and even handed biography of Fidel Castro. Entertaining and lively, yet true to all other sources of information I have encountered about Castro and Cuba. I have watched "Fidel" many times and each time am charmed by the swashbuckling representation of Castro's takeover of Cuba later sobered by the realities of his rule. Also excellent role for Gael Garcia Bernal as Che in all too abbreviated sequel to Motorcycle Diaries. January 10, 2007

This movie gave a good insight on Fidel.

Being that this was a TV mini-series through the production of Showtime it was pretty good. To me the first two hours of this movie was great. There are some very strong performances all round, and the activities are well researched and offer a fairly objective view of events. Obviously, many events are skirted over in order to fit the running time, but what is shown is a fairly accurate portrayal of history. The violence in particular is extremely well done, offering a very realistic portrayal of gunfire and its consequences, instead of some needlessly flashy OTT action.

The problem comes towards the 2nd half of the movie as Castro (played by Victor Huggo Martin) takes power of Cuba. Suddenly, the time-line lurches drastically to try and mention important events. The films low budget shows itself up as the film spans years and events with little or no regard to objective film making.

The movie is about Fidel, however, over the second half we suddenly cut to a very badly filmed sequence showing the death of Che Guevara (played by Gael García Bernal). Whilst certainly an important part of Fidel's life, the narrative shift from Fidel to Che seems clunky and out of place with the rest of the film. As a fan of Gael Garcia Bernal, I was especially interested in his character. However, I was left especially disappointed by Che's one-dimensional portrayal.

The desire to portray Fidel in a bad light, sacrifices the characterizations of the first half of the movie, and instead offers a clumsily scripted/filmed series of events designed to show Fidel in a bad light. The film should've ended when he took power. As it is, the final hour and a half ruin an otherwise great movie.

Grand Ideals and Theory Run Amok That pretty much sums up nearly every Communist revolution from Lenin to Fidel. This film showed that Fidel was living in the communist dream world, where everything would be alright as long as people sacrificed "For the Revolution!" What happened was crop shortages, political prisons getting filled with people who became just as oppressed under Castro as they had under Batista.

This movie showed the simple truth. As long as men are men, Communism can never work.
November 10, 2006

Long Movie, but worth it.

This Film does a great job of giving the viewer much insight to the other perspective: Fidel's. Also his motives, attitude toward the United States and his way of thinking. It is a rather long movie, but one must consider that the film must cover a large portion of history that is also very detailed. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

August 14, 2006

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