CHEVOLUTION

By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND

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ANTONIO BANDERAS, JIM FITZPATRICK, TOM MORELLO,
MAGNOLIA
1.19.10

Chevolution, a documentary about the most famous image of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, begins with a series of rapidly edited and repurposed clips of notorious moments of protest. Dense layers of digitally produced film grain rip by as a rock & roll version of the song "The Bullfighter" provides the cadence for animated inter-titles replete with runny, blood-red paint.

The irony this cinematic contrivance creates, for a film about the meaning and history of an image repurposed and reproduced ad infinitum for both merchandise and any revolution-of-the-moment, was unfortunately lost on the filmmakers. Their treatment of the Che photograph, which has the cultural durability to survive wars and generational upheavals, may have done more to desecrate the image than the millions of pseudo-rebels who don the image before they board the school bus in the morning.

The filmmakers generate a discussion about the magic of Che's famous mug with interviews from the likes of Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams, and several of the Cuban photographers and many intellectuals, but the generous screen time allotted to actors like Antonio Banderas—who the filmmakers don't even attempt to connect to Guevara or the photograph—makes the film seem like just another "Che" product.

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