That’s right they're turning the story of Che Guevara into a movie. Normally I would cringe at the thought of one of history’s well known revolutionaries being exploited and made into a film, but this project

Seriously, I saw the show it's a Che t-shirt.

has definitely peaked my interest. Let me explain; it all went down when I saw Jay-Z on MTV’s Unplugged wearing a Che shirt. Now I have no gripe with Jay-Z wearing a Che shirt if his politics dictate him rocking a Che shirt then cool, but dammit if you have the cojones to wear a Che shirt on MTV then you should also be able to express those reasons to your fans whether it’s through song or action.

This is where my concern comes in with the Che Guevara movie. Is it being made because the people involved feel that the revolutionary’s story deserves a wider audience or do the producers realize Che as a pop culture icon and see a film as way to turn Che into a merchandizing phenomenon (remember the Malcolm X hats and t-shirts)? Questions like these won't be answered until the film comes out.

Still this movie has a lot of potential. Who can deny Benicio Del Toro as Che? Not only does he look the part, but his roles in films like The Usual Suspects, Traffic, and the overlooked Way of the Gun prove that he has the necessary range to portray the revolutionary.

Benicio Del Toro will portray Che Guevara.

As for the director it was recently announced that recluse Terrence Malick is set to helm the feature. Quite frankly this automatically raises my expectations for this film. Though he has only made three movies in his 20 years as a director, each one is a classic and I strongly recommend you check them out at your local video store. His most recent was 1998’s World War II drama The Thin Red Line before that were classics; Badlands and Days of Heaven. Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11) was originally set to direct, but is now on as producer. Considering Malick’s release record (it took him 20 years to release his most recent film) we shouldn’t expect to see Che until some time after 2005.

By all means see this movie.

While I am enthused to see this on the big screen, I’m worried the machine will go into full swing and the streets will be flooded with fools sporting Che because that portrait of him looks cool on a t-shirt.

For questions, comments or know of any upcoming movies that you would like me to feature please send your email to rame@geoclan.com.