Those who have read something about this will get more out of the movies, but it's not compulsory. I saw both parts in one day and the experience was absorbing.

The Guevara portrayed here has humour but no irony: his commitment to the revolutionary ethos leaves little room for doubt, neurosis, or private loyalties of any kind.

A major disappointment. Soderbergh has stripped the story of most of its drama and though Del Toro, who won Best Actor at Cannes last year, is very convincing as Che, this Spanish-language film almost seems like an anti-movie.

Like the revolutionary himself, Che is an unrelenting, uncompromising struggle against the norm, a refreshing break from the standards of cinema itself.