Translate, boy. What did she say?
Could you say something into the microphone?
One, two, three...
MARCH 1952
MEXICO CITY JULY 1955
Do what you want, but don't mess with the Americans.
It's pretty simple. All we have to do...
...is organize a coup.
What did Batista do? He led a coup and took power in one day.
The main issue is to control power. The rest is nonsense.
It's not about taking power, but knowing what to do with it.
That's right.
That coup must be based on principles.
Let's eat. Fidel is late.
Argentine! Could you give me a hand?
It's not about making concessions but establishing conditions.
- Sorry I'm late. - It's about time!
Good evening. Sorry I'm late.
This is Ernesto.
- The Argentine doctor. - Pleased to meet you.
- My pleasure. - Let's eat!
Twenty percent of all Cubans are permanently unemployed.
1.5 percent of the landowners control 46 percent of the land.
Half the population has no electricity. Over half live in bohíos.
Sorry, what's a "bohío"?
What's a hovel in Argentina?
A shack.
37 percent can't read or write.
Infant mortality is through the roof.
What's more...
...while the thugs of the dictatorship...
...gun down anyone who speaks out...
...most corrupt officials...
...steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the public treasury...
...and deposit it into U.S. and European banks.
It's the same in all Latin American countries.
In the last few years...
...the balance of payments between the U.S. and Cuba...
...has been favorable to the U.S. by one billion dollars.
What does this mean?
That this poor Caribbean island...
...is helping to support the economy
of the most developed country in the world.
As Marti used to say, if the U.S. takes Spain out of Cuba...
...then we would have to take out the U.S.
Do you have a boat?
Money?
Not yet.
Fighters?
We've smuggled thirty into Mexico. We'll get some more.
Do you think I'm crazy?
A little.
Well...
...some craziness is good.
Fidel had extraordinary faith...
that once we left for Cuba,
we would make it there.
And that once we made it to Cuba, we would fight.
And that in fighting,
we would win.
And so it was that in November of 56
we left Mexico...
...in a leaky boat
with 82 men on board.
And of those 82,
only 12 would survive to witness our victory.
NEW YORK DECEMBER 1964
Murderer! Assassin!
Get out of Cuba, Che! Murderer!
MARCH 1957 398 MILES FROM HAVANA
Well, from this point forward, we experienced ten bitter days.
The only way I could walk was to hold myself up with the trees...
...or by leaning on my rifle butt.
As if that weren't enough, I was traveling with a soldier...
...who panicked every time my asthma
made me cough.
Soldiers! Soldiers are coming! There's a lot of them!
They're going to kill us! We have to hide!
That's Epifanio's house!
Close the door.
Where's Fidel?
My name is Ernesto Guevara. What's yours?
Jorge Sotús, why?
I have orders from Fidel to command you...
...and your men, and lead you to where he is.
Where are you from?
Argentina.
I don't trust anyone. I'm the only one leading these troops.
Frank País said to deliver these men to Fidel, personally.
Listen! We'll stop for five minutes.
Sit down, everyone.
Hey, what's going on?
- Fidel is coming! - Go and tell the doctor.
- Stand up, come on! - Fidel is coming.
Stand up.
Come on, up! Grab your rifle.
Finally!
Good to see you. Are you all right?
This is Epifanio.
- RaúI - How are you?
Very good.
Camilo.
- How was your vacation? - Vacation? What vacation?
Almeida.
Hello, Ramiro.
- Hi, Vilma. - Good to see you.
Vilo.
- How are you, Che? - Hello, Celia.
Thanks.
Listen.
Fidel wants to talk to you about what happened with Sotús.
Let him speak.
If you say something, it could sound defensive...
...and he's not going to like that.
I left you in charge of the reinforcements.
I don't have anything against Jorge Sotús...
...but how can you let someone with no experience
take charge of the troops?
You still have this complex about being foreign, and it's pointless.
You trained with us...
...you came in the boat with us, you were wounded fighting with us.
You are as Cuban and revolutionary as everyone here.
We are forming three columns.
RaúI will lead the first one.
Almeida will be in charge of the second one.
And Jorge Sotús will command the third one.
I did all my studies, finished high school...
...then I worked as a mechanic for two or three years.
I then delivered milk around the area. Also worked as a boxer.
And in a circus, working as a magician, among other things.
In a circus? How old are you?
Twenty.
- Who gave them to you? - The one and only Celia Sánchez!
He looks like John Wayne.
- A cowboy from the wild west. - The Little Cowboy.
That's it: "The Little Cowboy"!
The army keeps moving up and down the road, Fidel.
It would be pretty easy to hunt a couple of patrols.
- We must be patient. - I agree, it would be easy to do.
- We could do it fast and safely. - No, listen a second.
If we attack one of the trucks...
...then the army would say it was a crash on the road.
But if we launch a full attack on the Uvero barracks...
...it will be impossible for them to deny our victory.
It will have a huge psychological impact. Do you understand?
MAY 28, 1957
Sotús isn't in position...
...but he can't move because it's getting light out.
I don't know about the others. It's hard to see because...
Fuck, I missed!
Get down!
I have a saint watching over me! He protects me from everything!
Are you okay?
- It's my arm and leg. - Stay calm.
Don't fall asleep.
In War and Peace,
Tolstoy remarks that military science assumes...
...that bigger armies with more men
wield greater force.
On the other hand, only vaguely, do they recognize...
...that during military combat the final strength of an army...
...is also its true physical capacity multiplied by one unknown variable.
One unknown variable.
This variable is none other that the spirit of the troops...
...measured as their greater or lesser desire to fight
and confront danger.
Men with the desire to fight
who also understand why they are fighting...
...regardless of who they are fighting...
...whether under military geniuses
or those of normal intelligence...
...fighting with clubs or machine guns that fire 30 rounds a minute...
...these men
will put themselves in the best positions...
...and so they will win.
Light this up! Come on!
What are we going to do, now?
Take the barracks.
Come on!
Take this, motherfuckers!
From them on,
Batista began shutting down his Sierra Maestra barracks.
Fidel was right.
It was exactly as José Marti said...
...whoever takes the Sierra Maestra,
takes Cuba.
On our side, six comrades are dead and 17 are wounded.
Of the seventeen, six can't walk.
- How is Almeida? - He's fine. He's being treated.
Get the prisoners. They're coming with us.
Excuse me, doctor. I have no experience in this kind of situation.
There's a man over there who is choking.
Okay, guys, we got to get out of here. Come on, they're coming.
Let's go, guys.
Leave that.
You're okay. Help him.
Che, we have to leave right now.
Hey, shithead. Leave that.
We have to go! Come on!
Israel Pardo's farm is not far.
- Ernesto can take the wounded there. - No.
When they recover...
...we can meet up with you later.
That could be very dangerous.
They're going to flood this area with troops now.
We don't have a choice.
Let's think about it.
Anyway, give him the best weapons.
A real revolutionary goes where he's needed,
it may not be direct combat.
Sometimes it's about doing others task...
...finding food,
dressing wounds, carrying comrades for miles...
... and then,
taking care of them until they can take care of themselves.
This is what it means.
I always knew why I was fighting...
But I can tell you...
...that it was during the March of the Wounded
in June of 1957...
...that I became the fighter I am today.
And once that happens, it leaves you only one path.
I don't have any plans to retire.
It's infected.
We'll have to leave it uncovered.
I have to walk with my ass naked?
Fuck!
(Vilo smells something.)
Let's pick some guavas before going back.
Stop there, buddy.
What are you two doing here?
- We're from here. - What's your name?
- Israel. - Israel what?
Israel Pardo.
- What's his name? - He's my brother, Guile.
- Ernesto Guevara. - Did we scare you?
Guile.
Good, man, good.
We have to take him to a hospital.
Give me a swig.
Can we trust anyone to take him out of here?
Difficult.
Soldiers tell people that the rebels kill them and steal their food.
My mother is from here and my father came from Haiti.
When he met my mother...
...we moved to a farm that belonged to Juanito Echevarría.
He gave us a piece of land to grow coffee.
But we had to clear it and plant the seeds.
And we had to give him a third of our crop.
And one day Juanito decided to kick us out.
When my father knew he had to leave...
...he stood in front of Juanito Echevarría and said:
"I'll leave if you want, but you have to pay...
...you have to pay me for the four years that I worked here."
Do you know
what Juanito Echevarría paid us for four years of work?
One hundred pesos.
My old man got one hundred pesos for four years.
Be careful.
Okay.
This is the bullet I removed from your body.
You're a champ.
- I'm going to get better now. - Yes.
Maybe a little powder.
...and from that comes...
If I don't work, I don't eat. And you are on welfare.
Go back to work in Cuba.
What's the point of the U.N. if our fate is determined by the O.A.S...
...an organization that expelled us and to which we no longer have ties?
Excuse me, Comandante. Will you need me tonight?
Little boy, no one is so necessary, or indispensable in this life.
Don't go thinking that you are indispensable.
Go, do what you need to do.
I am going to give you a little checkup...
...beginning with your ears.
Is that okay?
Too much work and not enough to eat.
Maria, try to eat meat whenever you can.
- Alright? - Thanks, doctor.
- Let's go, Laura. - Goodbye.
Mommy, that guy's a liar. He says the same thing to everyone.
- Where does it hurt? - Nothing really hurts.
I just came to see you because I've never seen a doctor before.
Well, you've seen one now. I'm here for you.
Excuse me.
Can I have your canteen, so I can fill it?
Thank you, Guile.
Listen, Doctor.
I want to go with you all.
First you have to learn to read and write, man.
I can learn.
Very good, Guile.
But I still can't take you because I don't have a gun to give you.
But I don't care, I want to help.
We need your help here.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Where do you come from? - From Bayamo.
All of you?
If you are armed, you can stay.
If you're not, you have to leave right now.
Esteban, come here.
Man, didn't I tell you to only bring men with weapons?
If we're attacked, how the hell are they going to defend themselves?
Have you been drinking?
No.
Where did you get that from?
I found it.
Hey.
Listen, what's your name?
Cuervo.
How old are you?
Twenty.
They gave you a tremendous shotgun.
They must like you.
If they liked me they'd let me keep my rifle...
...and not this stupid shotgun.
They would have made me leader of a column...
...and we would be fighting by now instead of crossing these mountains.
With your permission, Doctor...
...we were standing guard last night but our relief never came.
We stayed until six in the morning.
We never found out where they were.
We try to follow the rules, but it's not easy.
Hey, Joel!
Didn't you organize the watch last night?
Yes, sir. Why?
Omar and Carlos were on watch for four hours and relief never showed.
Those guys are stupid shitheads!
No, you're the only shithead here.
Me? Why?
Ernesto, they should've found out where their relief was sleeping.
- That's not my fault. - What the fuck were you thinking?
That was your responsibility.
You organized the watch! You had to guarantee the shift relief!
- Fuck! - Yes, sir.
Tonight you'll stand watch for four hours.
Stay focused!
It's ready, Che.
Esteban left to meet Cuervo at the sentry post.
- When did he leave? - Half an hour ago.
Those bastards are gone!
Bandera, come here.
Esteban and Cuervo took off. We have to find both of them.
We're from Fidel's group.
We're looking for food and money.
You can put the money in this bag.
The Comandante here wants to talk to your daughter.
We searched all over...
...but nothing.
Alright.
Of course, defeating imperialism is impossible...
...if you don't recognize its source is the United States of America.
In capitalist system, people live in an invisible cage.
For example, they accept the myth of the self-made man.
But they do not understand...
that opportunities for the majority...
...are determined by forces completely beyond individual control.
This is ugly.
I want the vanguard a hundred yards ahead of us at all times.
We should bury them.
Because yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Locals say there's a terrible battle in the Estrada Palma military base.
They say RaúI is wounded and that the army is coming toward us.
Forget about it. We're surrounded.
The only way out of here...
...is to cut through El Turquino.
I'm ready to take the mountain.
That was a good party.
Vilo.
- He says he wants to talk to you. - I'm sorry.
The problem is that one of your men who says he is Lalo Sardiñas...
...is down there with a group of rebels...
...and if a patrol arrives...
...they're going to burn my shack, and kill my family.
And that can't happen! No way!
Pleased to meet you. My name is Ernesto Guevara.
- What's your name? - Emilio Cabrera.
Emilio, don't worry. No one is going to touch anything.
Vilo, tell people to get ready, they're about to meet Fidel Castro.
No, now listen to me.
RaúI wasn't really wounded. We were the ones surrounding the army.
And those bastards escaped.
Boy!
Come on, motherfucker. Give me a hand.
How are you?
Here.
Welcome.
- Where did you get those peasants? - Those are my troops, man.
They're working out all right.
I don't speak out loud because they'll get big heads.
We've missed you.
Some coffee?
Hey, Joel.
Fidel asked me why I hadn't made you lieutenant.
I told him because you didn't know how to read or write.
Well, I want to learn.
But I need someone to teach me.
Then get a pencil and a pair of notebooks...
...and put them in your backpack.
Look, Che.
This is the new recruit I wanted to introduce to you.
Doctor Martínez Páez.
Pleased to meet you.
I have a present here.
From now on...
...I stop being the medic to become a guerrilla.
What, are you giving up your job?
Yes, sir.
- Who are they? - Chibás and Pazos.
They're signing an agreement.
What agreement?
A political alliance.
I would say that the only conflict we had
was with Batista and his allies...
We differed in our tactics.
They wanted to oust Batista with a general strike...
...and we wanted to overthrow him with an armed struggle.
As you can see
our method proved effective for removing Batista.
All right, gentlemen.
The provisional government, first...
...will free all political prisoners, civilian and military.
Second, it will guarantee freedom of information for the radio and press...
...and individual and political rights established in the 1940 Constitution.
The provisional government
will also establish terms for the Agrarian Reform...
...leading to the distribution of public lands.
Have a good trip.
Excuse me, Fidel.
I can't understand how you can meet with those clowns...
...and much less, how you can make an agreement with them.
They're fighting against the same enemy we are.
No, you're fighting, they're negotiating.
They have lots of followers, Ernesto.
People I can't afford to turn away.
Let's see how it goes.
But I'm sure that if we win the war...
...those guys will hand the keys over to the U.S.
Listen, when this war is won, no one's handing any keys to anybody.
I'll guarantee you that.
Come here, I need you to sign something for me.
It's a letter of condolence for Frank País.
They killed his brother in Santiago.
They killed his brother?
Sign as "Comandante."
I'm forming a new column in the eastern side of Mount Turquino.
You'll have three captains...
...Lalo Sardiñas...
...Ramiro Valdés...
...and Ciro Redondo.
You have to wear out Mosquera's troops...
...harass them constantly. Don't let up on them.
Don't even let them breathe!
You cannot give them a break.
I want you to establish a base at El Hombrito.
Got it?
No one can leave a wounded comrade on the battlefield.
Right?
If any of you leave weapons behind during battle or anywhere else...
...you'll have to go back for it, alone.
And if anyone falls asleep on guard duty, he won't eat for three days.
Is that clear?
Thank you, Ciro.
I want to say something else...
...to make myself clear.
We respect the peasants...
...so no one is allowed to touch their harvest...
...or mess with them...
...or their families.
If anyone does...
...he will be punished to the full extent of the revolutionary code.
Luis!
Come here.
Here you go. Take care of it like it's your girlfriend.
Thank you, Comandante.
Do you need help, Comandante?
No.
- Gustavo. - Yes, Comandante.
Take your math notebook out and do some work.
I'm exhausted, Comandante.
Okay.
Love.
Let me tell you something at the risk of sounding ridiculous.
A true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love...
...love of humanity,
justice
and truth.
It's impossible to conceive of an authentic revolutionary...
...without this one quality.
Don't move, asshole!
Freeze! Don't shoot!
I'm a doctor.
Che, they're shooting mortars!
How many men are in your troops?
One hundred forty.
Under whose command?
Merob Sosa.
- Mortars! - Let's go.
- Tell me. - Ramiro.
Go back and keep shooting until Lalo Sardiñas' squad has passed.
We'll do a second line of resistance...
...up there, on the hill, two hundred meters away.
- See you. - Let's go, gentlemen.
That's Gustavo!
No, Roberto! Roberto!
Friends?
It would be very difficult, it would take a long time.
By this I mean with the U.S. government...
...because we have nothing against the American people.
There's not even a trace of hate in our country for the American people
Comandante, there's a page missing.
- How is this possible? - The fourteenth.
Here is the page. It's torn out.
Excuse me, Comandante.
There's a small problem.
- What did he say? - There's a bomb threat at the U.N.
They called the station 30 minutes ago, Comandante.
Hector, you go with Pedro and the Cuban delegation in the second car...
...and I will go in the first car.
I think I should go with you.
I didn't ask your opinion.
Comandante, with all due respect...
...I came here to protect you.
And I'd like you to give me that opportunity, at least.
- That way we'll die together if... - No one is going to die.
Traitor!
Go away! Traitor! Murderer!
Not only did you desert with your weapon...
...and terrorize the area, stealing from the poor...
...in the name of the revolution...
...but also, because of your betrayal...
...peasants were tortured and murdered by Batista's army.
Why, Esteban?
The punishment for treason is death.
And you...
...boasted of your authority as a messenger for the Rebel Army...
...and passing yourself off as Comandante Almeida...
...you raped Juan Carlos Estévez's daughter...
...a teenager...
...and this also deserves the death penalty.
Bring him here.
Would you like a sip of rum?
Roberto, give him a swig.
Do you have a last wish?
Let me confess to Father Chávez.
We can't bring you the priest. He's far away, we have no time.
- Something else? - Then give me another swig.
Give him another.
Ready.
Aim.
Make sure everyone knows I asked for my last confession.
Fire!
Mr. President, fellow delegates...
The world has developed a great deal in this political arena...
...but American imperialism, above all...
...has led people to believe that peaceful coexistence...
...is the exclusive right of the world's most powerful nations.
Cuba, my fellow delegates, free and sovereign...
...with no chains tying it to anyone...
...without foreign investments in its territory...
...free from occupant military bosses determining political status...
...can stand tall at this assembly...
...and demonstrate the correctness of the cry with which it was baptized.
Free territory of America!
The United States
intervenes in Latin America claiming they defend freedom.
One day this assembly will acquire enough maturity...
...to demand equal rights for blacks...
...and Latin Americans living in this country...
...as they awaken from the long,
brutal sleep to which they've been subject.
We need to say here...
...something that is a known truth.
And this is a truth we have always presented to the world.
Executions? Yes, we have executed.
We execute, and we'll continue to execute when it is necessary.
Our fight is a fight to death.
These are the conditions in which we live...
...because of the imposition of American imperialism.
Good morning.
- How are you, doctor? - Good.
- And my brother? - Very good.
- What's your name? - He's Enrique, my brother.
We're from Remedios.
We worked for the 26th of July Movement.
My brother and I, with a group...
...tried to burn down the stable at the town barracks...
...but one of the soldiers identified my brother...
...so we came here to find Fidel.
- What's your name? - Rogelio Acevedo.
- How old are you, Rogelio? - Sixteen.
- And you? - Fourteen.
Sixteen and fourteen.
I can't accept you, you're too young.
- What are you here for? - Same reasons as you.
Is that so? Very good.
Do you know how to read and write?
No.
Raise your hands, the ones who know how to read and write.
So you know how to read and write?
Yes, Comandante. I made it through sixth grade.
We are not here in the middle of the mountains just to fire guns.
A country that doesn't know how to read and write...
...is easy to deceive.
Since none of you have weapons...
...I'm picking only eight of you. The rest will have to go.
This is no piece of cake, we're here to fight.
We won't eat for days. We'll sleep on the ground in the rain...
...we're risking our lives here.
Is that clear?
- Yes. - Is that absolutely clear?
- Sure? - Yes.
Good. You will be a teacher.
And the rest will learn from her. You came here to fight and to learn.
Okay?
And you?
- Come on, boys, you gotta go. - No.
Fuck no. You have to go.
If I have to go back to Remedios I'd rather shoot myself.
Me, too.
My God...
- Are you listening? - Let's go, man.
Let's get moving.
Come on.
Wait, wait, wait!
You can't do that, man.
Stand up! You're stopping the column!
- Hold my gun. - Let's go.
The next letter is...
No, look.
Here. Yello...
Excuse me, Che. He says he needs to talk to you.
What's going on?
Comandante, Camilo calls me a bad word every time he sees me.
- What bad word? - Something rude I don't like.
Go and get Camilo. Like what?
I don't want to be a bother, but I'm a man who shouldn't be disrespected.
Everyone is laughing and making fun of me.
I don't really understand what he's saying, but I don't like it.
What's going on, Comandante?
Albertico.
What's the story?
Okay, friend, now tell me what Camilo's been saying to you?
He calls me "vanilla piss".