From the cradle to the grave — from early summers in Argentina to the jungles of the Congo and Bolivia — CHE: RISE & FALL reveals a profoundly human and still irreplaceable giant of history. Filmed entirely in Cuba at the very moment Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s remains were being airlifted from Bolivia for reburial, this documentary offers rare immediacy and authenticity.
At its heart is Dr. Alberto Granados, Che’s childhood friend and companion on the legendary motorcycle journey across South America. Granados provides an intimate portrait of young Che, contextualizing the diaries that later inspired The Motorcycle Diaries and offering reflections shaped by decades of friendship. His testimony is complemented by the voices of three surviving members of Che’s personal guard in Cuba, who bring honest, personal, and often startlingly direct accounts of Guevara’s role in the Cuban Revolution, his work as Minister of Industry, and his evolving relationship with Fidel Castro. Their recollections also illuminate Che’s deep frustration with bureaucracy and bourgeois comfort — summarized in his own words: “No nací para ser ministro, ni abuelito.” (“I was not born to be a minister or a grandfather.”)
The film is also the first documentary to present Che’s disillusioning military campaign in the Congo, revealing a sense of failure that would propel him toward his ill-fated guerrilla effort in Bolivia, despite the warnings of those closest to him. The documentary features extraordinary archival material alongside original photographs taken by Che himself, offering singular insight into his private and political worlds.
CHE: RISE & FALL remains the only documentary to chronicle the full ceremony surrounding the return of Che’s remains to Santa Clara — from the official state observances to the overwhelming public outpouring as thousands gathered to honor one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century.
In her published review for Rutgers University Libraries, librarian Lourdes Vázquez describes the film as “highly recommended” for high school, college, university, and public library collections — particularly in the fields of labor studies, Latin American history, cultural studies, and political movements.
Alberto Granados, Che’s longtime friend and companion on Che’s motorcycle ride out of Argentina, is one of the main characters of this documentary, together with the three surviving members of Guevara’s personal guard in Cuba, who bring an honest and personal testimony. Shot in Cuba during the time the remains of Ché were being transported from Bolivia to his final resting place in Santa Clara: the Mausoleo Ché Guevara, which houses his remains and sixteen of his fellow combatants in Bolivia; Granados gives a portrait of young Ché and their long trip through South America. Che diaries related to the trip, as well as Alberto Granado’s own memoir, served as the story for the Motorcycle Diaries film. The three surviving guards unveil Che’s strong contribution to the Cuban Revolution, his experience and example as Industry Minister after the revolution, his intimate relationship with Fidel Castro, and his frustrations with bureaucracy and bourgeois life. “No nací para ser ministro, ni abuelito.”--I was not born to be a minister or a grandfather, he said once to Granados.
For the first time, a documentary presents Che’s frustrated experience of the period spent in Congo fighting a Revolutionary War, as well as his sense of failure. This sense of failure was probably the cause of his rushing to organize a guerrilla movement in Bolivia despite being counseled to the contrary. This documentary includes extraordinary archival footage as well as original photographs taken by Ché himself. So far, it is the only documentary that brings the ceremony of the return of Ché’s remains to Santa Clara, the government ceremony, as well as the pouring of people who gave homage to this twentieth-century heroic figure. This documentary is a must-see for anyone interested in labor studies, history, and cultural studies of Latin America. Highly recommended for high school, college, university, and public libraries.
