Comandante

Great movie sad Americans never have access to other versions of history other than CNN or the History Channel or similar mediocre sources

"The truth shall set you free." What Cuban exiles call the golden age of Cuba, the gangster-prostitution houses' era, ended with the Barbudos marching in. The film by Stone allows Americans to see why the world does not share the poison tip opinions of the Cuban exile community. Americans have a right to see that it is poverty caused by an illegal U.S. blockade which forces people in Cuba, like those of Central America and Haiti, to take the perilous trip to the north. Sad that censorship is the only thing Cuban exiles can contribute to the United States.

This is a great documentary with very effective editing and stirring music. We see Fidel Castro and Oliver Stone visiting a medical school where even American students can go for free, having lunches together, walking around and talking about everything, from Viagra to philosophy. There are also many revealing scenes of the island and historical clips. The fact that this documentary was banned from theaters and TV is more evidence that the United States is not as free as many people would like to think. Get a region-free DVD player and then buy this documentary.

Great insight and research by Oliver Stone. It's a European DVD but it worked on my laptop!

Does not play in our DVD player.

Oliver Stone took a huge risk in making this movie and I am glad that he did. Great art that stands the test of time and makes a significant impact on contemporary discussion is art that takes risk. "Comandante" does just that."Comandante" is a series of interviews between Oliver Stone and Fidel Castro in Havana. Stone guides the conversation diligently as they change locations from the Palace of the Revolution to Old Havana to the School of the Americas and the Contemporary Museum of Cuba. Throughout the conversations the viewers are allowed to see a side of Fidel Castro that we are not allowed to see due to political bullying from the Cuban exile group in Miami. After all, it is harder to villify and hate someone once you see that they have a human side. In this film Fidel makes jokes, engages in friendly verbal repartee with Stone and offers candid insight into what he was thinking during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Fidel also has a bust of Abraham Lincoln in his office. He is a great admirer of Lincoln. How many Americans know that?How many Americans really know Cuban history beyond what is emanating from Miami? Seeing this film is a good start to get a better idea of what preceded the Cuban Revolution. There are even images of Fulgencio Batista, the overthrown dictator, present in the movie.In some documentaries, the conversations are contrived, but here they are open and flow quite easily. I must say that the translater does an excellent job in facilitating the conversation.The music is excellent as well and you will find yourself tapping your foot as you watch the movie.I have been in Cuba four times and watching this movie brought back wonderful memories of Havana and the people who live there.With any historical figure there are two sides to the story. So far the American people have been allowed only to see one side. This movie does an excellent job of showing the other side. There is no America bashing; on the contrary, Fidel applauds the American people and emphasizes the American government OF THE PEOPLE--a sentiment that seems to have been lost over the last few years.I encourage everyone to look for this movie, the search is worth the effort. Oliver Stone and Fidel Castro tell a story that must be heard.It is interesting to note that Fidel Castro is painted as a dictator for not allowing open communication or dialog. Yet he is quite open and frank in this movie and the American government has made it almost impossible to see this movie. I wonder who is really following the steps of dictatorship here.

`Comandante' is a compelling and fascinating interview with Castro filmed in 2002. It looks at a variety of topics from the revolution, bay of pigs, Che Guevara, modern Cuba and way more besides. Castro comes across as extremely charismatic and candid and although you have to be aware of the bias in any interview of this type, this doesn't feel especially like a PR exercise or publicity stunt. Oliver Stone is a poor interviewer and his questioning could have been more concise to get a more coherent narrative from Castro and taking this into account this interview is all the more interesting. Once you get used to the subtitles and translations tripping over each other this quickly become compelling viewing and 90 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye. It is fascinating to see Castro when he meets the public, they obviously seem to adore him and you don't feel as if this is staged either. It is also great to see historical footage inter-cut with the interview and footage of modern day Havana as well. All in all, this is a intriguing, fascinating and extremely watchable interview with one of the most important world leaders from the last 50 years. Well worth a look.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I purchased this after reading a few of the reviews on Amazon, which were honest and impartial, and I was not prepared to watch any documentary that was designed to be stereotypical about Fidel Castro; having read about the Cuban Revolution and a little of Castro's life and being a little more prepared in this regard. I am also a fan of Oliver Stone's films, which are different and non-mainstream in their context, and read reviews about "Commandante", which gave a more empathetic image of who Fidel Castro is so I knew that I would enjoy this film. But I was in for my own surprise. Instead of seeing a documentary about Fidel Castro's life, this film bases the interview on his life in short context, with supporting black and white film footage which is a nice contrast to the interview. I also liked how Oliver showed the process of the informality of the interview and in different settings while also providing a slight glimpse of the people and country. For someone who may not have the opportunity to visit Cuba, this film kind of satisfied that desire, but not entirely of course. I think that the average Cuban does want change in the country, particularly stimulation of the economy, but do love their leader and accept his policies. What Fidel created and maintained in Cuba was amazing and like no other part of the world and this film confirms this. Finally, it was heartwarming for me to see how hospitable Fidel was and how he embraced Oliver Stone and the crew almost as he would part of his family. There are many misconceptions about Fidel Castro and Oliver has done a wonderful job of helping to highlight these. A must see!

With so much propaganda (from both sides of the political spectrum) aimed at Fidel Castro, it is difficult to get a true picture of the man. His opponents paint him as a ferocious dictator; who oppressed his people in order to stay in power. His supporters laud him as a steadfast opponent of American imperialism, who managed to stave off domination and even invasion from the world's most powerful nation, and in the process create some kind of alternative utopia to Western capitalism. The truth is probably far more complex than this, and with Oliver Stone's marvellous documentary, we get a unique opportunity to hear from the man himself, without the barrage of distortions that come with most profiles of the Cuban leader.Stone and his crew spent three days with Castro and some of his staff, filming him for a total of 30 hours, and the documentary we see is a selection of old footage, news reels and interviews lasting 1.5 hours. Whatever opinions one has of Castro, during this film, he comes across as a sincere man who has done his utmost for what he believed was best for Cuba. Few who know about the period before Castro came to power would argue with his intentions, I suppose the real argument is whether the route Castro took Cuba afterwards on was the right one. This film does not attempt to answer such a profound question, however; it is simply an intimate portrait of a hugely important individual few of us, particularly in the West, get to see. On that level, it certainly succeeds.Some have argued that Stone did not provide enough challenging questions to his interviewee, and they may have a point, but it should still be enjoyed as a rare and intimate glimpse into the life of one of the most enigmatic, and divisive, figures of the twentieth century.

`Comandante' is a compelling and fascinating interview with Castro filmed in 2002. It looks at a variety of topics from the revolution, bay of pigs, Che Guevara, modern Cuba and way more besides. Castro comes across as extremely charismatic and candid and although you have to be aware of the bias in any interview of this type, this doesn't feel especially like a PR exercise or publicity stunt. Oliver Stone is a poor interviewer and his questioning could have been more concise to get a more coherent narrative from Castro and taking this into account this interview is all the more interesting. Once you get used to the subtitles and translations tripping over each other this quickly become compelling viewing and 90 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye. It is fascinating to see Castro when he meets the public, they obviously seem to adore him and you don't feel as if this is staged either. It is also great to see historical footage inter-cut with the interview and footage of modern day Havana as well. All in all, this is a intriguing, fascinating and extremely watchable interview with one of the most important world leaders from the last 50 years. Well worth a look.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

I wanted to hear directly from the horse's mouth about the revolution in Cuba. At the time of the revolutionary victory I was very much against the fascist Batista and cheered on Castro. After that time we mostly only heard lying propaganda about Cuba from the arrogant US government. Members of my family have been to Cuba on holidays and I am hoping to go there myself this year. Fidel Castro really is a unique character, he is charming and funny and also very intelligent. What a fantastic achievement to have kept out the most predatory and arrogant superpower for 50 years! I look forward to the time this malevolent American entity is removed from the territory of Guantanamo Bay, which it holds against international law, and will be forced to close down its torture camp.Oliver Stone did a remarkable job in making this movie. He allowed Fidel to speak for himself. The predatory corporations that control America won't like it when people find that the only torturers on Cuba are the US military and their own former stooge Batista. American leadership is sick and likes to demonize a man who has done more for the Cuban people than they could ever imagine doing for the American people. In Cuba the US encouraged prostitution, corruption and the mafia and Fidel has made great strides in cleaning the place up. Cubans live longer and have proper health care for all their people. They also do not spend all their time and money in bombing and killing civilians on all the other continents of the world. The Cubans only went to Africa to rescue people from colonialism and predatory capitalism being carried out by the stooges of Washington from Apartheid South Africa.Congratulations to Oliver Stone as he has given the Cuban people the opportunity to restore the balance.

Being more of a book fan, I read 'My Life' by Andrew Hurley and Fidel a few years back and I keep on going back to it. But this movie by Oliver Stone is a fantastic piece of work. How many of our 'democratic' leaders would grant conversations with people while still in power and speak about all topics, whether favourable or not, and try and use their rationale to persuade the person questioning them that the course they took, or what they did was for the best? I'm not holding Fidel up as some form of perfect leader, but ask yourself how many democratically elected leaders can say they had the same success in education and health as this man and his revolution? Oliver Stone's movie shows the drive he still had in those years. Epic viewing.