Hollywood director says Cuban rebel 'Che' relevant to US politics

Washington, Dec.13 (ANI): Noted Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh has said that in the prevailing politico-economic environment in the United States, where the mantra is make profit of everything, the class-less society dream of Cuban rebel Ernesto Che' Guevara in the 1950s and 1960s is still relevant and worth emulating.

Soderbergh, who has directed films about the war on drugs ("Traffic") and environmental laws ("Erin Brockovich"), as well as executive producing the Middle East drama "Syriana" and co-creating the HBO lobbyist miniseries "K Street," is now making two-part, four-hour biopic about the life and death of Che Guevara.

"We're certainly seeing the result of what happens when you make profit the point of everything, where money that's being earned doesn't represent any particular product or labor on anybody's part. That can't sustain, because it's magical thinking. It can't go on indefinitely, because eventually it crashes. Che's dream of a classless society, a society that isn't built on the profit motive, is still relevant. The arguments still going on are about his methodology, " Soderbergh told Politico.

The film titled "Che," premieres this week. It is a smart, challenging biopic starring Benicio del Toro as the Cuban guerrilla who fought alongside Fidel Castro and was later assassinated by the CIA after attempting to bring revolutionary politics to third-world countries in Africa and Latin America.

When asked what he thought the Obama administration would do about Cuba, Sodenbergh said: "It's obvious what we're doing isn't working. The answer is: Lift the embargo, and flood that place with tourists, put the onus on them and call their bluff. The people of the U.S. are the best advertisement for its ideals. Not its government."

He also said that he was not sure how Obama's relationship with Hollywood would pan out in the years ahead, and added that though he had a cozy relationship with the town and its inhabitants, he (Obama) "has so much stuff in his lap that's so much more important than that."

"I'm hoping he won't be expending a lot of energy dealing with these issues because it's just way, way down on the list, and other people who work for him can handle that if he really wants to pursue it," Sodenbergh said.

He also said that he had some political projects up his sleeve.

"Yes, I'm interested in this area and I'm trying to figure out how my job and craft can express my view. Right now, it's ambitious but it's also very nebulous and I'm not sure what form it will take," he said.

He said that the sole objective behind doing Che' was to re-create a piece of history.

"It's not a recruitment film. What I hope happens when people come out of the theater is they'll ask themselves, 'Wow, is there anything in my life I feel that passionate about?'" (ANI)