edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

Upcoming

July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A

Che Day

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The most keenly anticipated film of the festival begins in two hours and 25 minutes. Four hours and 28 minutes plus a break between the two films, so figure five hours. I'm going to text a mini-review of Part One (i.e, The Argentine) during this break, and probably some kind of quickie judgment after the whole thing ends sometime around 11:30 pm. But a full-on review won't happen until tomorrow morning.

Woody Viddy<< previous | next >>Che Is Brilliant

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 21, 2008 at 07:04 AM

comment #1

Breedlove says ...

Wow. Big day. You must be fired up, Jeff. It seems as though this is just about your most anticipated film of the year. Look forward to our thoughts.

Posted by Breedlove at May 21, 2008 08:02 AM

comment #2

Breedlove says ...

Wow. Big day. You must be fired up, Jeff. It seems as though this is just about your most anticipated film of the year. Look forward to our thoughts.

Posted by Breedlove at May 21, 2008 08:05 AM

comment #3

Breedlove says ...

Yeah, I'm that guy today.

Posted by Breedlove at May 21, 2008 08:06 AM

comment #4

Breedlove says ...

Your thoughts. I'm drunk.

Posted by Breedlove at May 21, 2008 08:18 AM

comment #5

lionsfan says ...

I wonder, Jeff, if you have the necessary political literacy and general familiarity with Che's actual life history and with the course of Cuban Communism to deliver for your readers a review of these two films which will both make real sense and place Che Guevara in an authentic political context. Based on your previous political posts, I very much doubt it, however.

Posted by lionsfan at May 21, 2008 09:35 AM

comment #6

Reedyb says ...

Lionsfan, there are levels of enjoyment in a movie (or any work of art like a book, song, etc.) that can include knowing about a subject's actual life or not.

Give Jeff a break. He's going to tell us if this is a good movie or not. Period.

As for "authentic political context," I don't believe that actually exists for anyone, since nothing political is ever objective and would only taint any "context."

Posted by Reedyb at May 21, 2008 09:54 AM

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

lionsfan, I wonder if you know how much the Lions suck. Based on your handle, I doubt that you do.

Posted by BurmaShave at May 21, 2008 10:04 AM

comment #8

p.Vice says ...

So Reedy, you're saying you're only interested in whether or not you'll be entertained by the movie, not whether it has anything particularly interesting or relevant to say about history, politics, or the mythic figure Guevara presents within the overall framework of communism? Or would you think that the latter might have something to do with what would make a film like this "good" or not?

Posted by p.Vice at May 21, 2008 10:11 AM

comment #9

Reedyb says ...

No. What I'm saying is that context (historical, literary, etc.) can create a different level of appreciation and enjoyment, but it's not the only one.

Posted by Reedyb at May 21, 2008 01:56 PM