''Fidel'' is a 2002 mini-series by David Attwood that describes the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n revolution and political career of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

(played by Víctor Huggo Martin). The total duration of the film is 200 minutes, but the video-version is shorter.

Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Babel'', '' Coco'', ...

would later reprise his role as

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

in the film '' The Motorcycle Diaries''.

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 Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

'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

Terminology

Being a US film, it uses US terminology, such as use of the word

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

instead of

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, 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 Celia may refer to: General *Celia (given name) *''Celia'', a subgenus of carabid beetles of the genus '' Amara'' *Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex * Celia (virtual assistant), AI virtual assistant by Huawei *, a number of ships with ...

Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 ''Granma (yacht), Granma'' ...

* Eduardo Chibas *

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (; ; born 3 June 1931) is a retired Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, succeedi ...

Huber Matos Huber Matos Benítez (26 November 1918 – 27 February 2014) was a Cuban military leader, political dissident, activist, and writer. He opposed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista from its inception in 1952 and fought alongside Fidel Castro, R ...

Herbert Matthews Herbert Lionel Matthews (January 10, 1900 – July 30, 1977) was a reporter and editorialist for ''The New York Times'' who, at the age of 57, won widespread attention after revealing that the 30-year-old Fidel Castro was still alive and living i ...

Abel Santamaria Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepher ...

and his sister Haydee Santamaria * US Ambassador Robert Butler

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fidel (Film) Estudios Churubusco films 2002 television films 2002 films Biographical films about revolutionaries Films set in Cuba Cultural depictions of Fidel Castro Films shot in the Dominican Republic Films with screenplays by Stephen Tolkin Films directed by David Attwood (film director)