Fidel (2002 film)
Fidel is a 2002 mini-series by David Attwood that describes the Cuban revolution and political career of Fidel Castro (played by Víctor Huggo Martin). The total duration of the film is 200 minutes, but the video-version is shorter. Gael García Bernal would later reprise his role as Che Guevara in the film The Motorcycle Diaries.
| Fidel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Stephen Tolkin |
| Directed by | David Attwood |
| Theme music composer | Jon Alexi John Altman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Kevin Cooper Jose Ludlow |
| Cinematography | Checco Varese |
| Editor(s) | Milton Moses Ginsberg |
| Running time | 200 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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Plot
The film is almost documentary in its portrayal of facts. It claims to be based strongly on facts, apart from some adaptations like merging various characters into one.
After two hours, the film changes dramatically. The first two hours are about the six years before the fall of Batista's dictatorship. The last hour is about the 40 years after that.
In the first two hours, Castro regularly distances himself from Communism and Communists, but after the take-over, the film suggests that Castro had always aspired a Marxist-Leninist State.
Cast
- Víctor Huggo Martin as Fidel Castro
- Honorato Magaloni as Aged Fidel Castro
- Gael García Bernal as Che Guevara
- Patricia Velásquez as Mirta
- Cecilia Suárez as Celia Sánchez
- Maurice Compte as Raúl Castro
- Margarita Rosa de Francisco as Naty Revuelta
- Enrique Arce as Rafael
- José María Yazpik as Camilo Cienfuegos
- Manuel Sevilla as Abel Santamaría
- Alejandra Gollas as Haydée Santamaría
- Ernesto Godoy as Huber Matos
- Guillermo Díaz as Universo Sánchez
- Tony Plana as Gen. Fulgencio Batista
- Mel Rodriguez as Calixto Morales
- Bobby Plasencia as Faustino Pérez
- Ismael 'East' Carlo as Eduardo Chibás
- Ken Jenkins as Herbert Matthews
- Adrián Makala as Juan Almeida
- Pedro Mira as Ramiro Valdés
- Juan Ignacio Aranda as Alberto Bayo
- Diego Luna as Renato Guitart
- Carmen Zapata as old woman
Terminology
Being a US film, it uses US terminology, such as use of the word Communism instead of Socialism, which is the word used in Cuba (the goal may be Communism, but the method is Socialism). There is, though, nuance to take into account: the Cuban communist party was called People's Socialist Party (PSP), but the Cubans did refer to them as "communists". Also, the US is referred to as 'America' and the continent as 'the Americas', whereas the term 'America' is in Cuba reserved for the Continent (e.g. in one of the historical recordings that are shown, the crowd chants 'Cuba si, Yankee no', not 'Cuba yes, America no').
Historical Characters
Along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Fulgencio Batista, over a dozen other historical characters are featured, including:
- Celia Sanchez
- Camilo Cienfuegos
- Eduardo Chibas
- Raúl Castro
- Huber Matos
- Herbert Matthews
- Abel Santamaria and his sister Haydee Santamaria.