Che divides Cannes critics

Audiences at Cannes were divided last night after the screening of Steven Soderbergh's Che, starring Benicio del Toro (right) as the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara: had they just seen the clear winner of Sunday's Palme d'Or, or an absolute mess of a film that needs a lot of work if it is ever to open at the cinema? Soderbergh, who made his name as a 26-year-old with sex, lies and videotape, has produced his most difficult film to date.

In effect, he has made two films about the same subject and stuck them together. Part One is devoted to Che and co-rebel Fidel Castro's painstaking conquest of Cuba. Part Two covers Che's failed attempt to do the same in Bolivia. One of the problems identified by critics is that Soderbergh made the second film first. Another factor that may not have helped is that this movie was funded by Fidel Castro.

One critic described Che, which also stars Julia Ormond (left) and Rodrigo Santoro (centre), as "an incredibly ambitious, highly detailed mess of a film or two that might be saved if it's re-thought. We haven't seen so much genius and tedium in one place since Heaven's Gate." However, Bloomberg's critic, Farah Nayeri, was kinder, saying it "delivers enough moments of great cinema - especially the majestic end - to redeem himself in the viewer's bleary eyes."

Although it has been tipped to take the top award at Cannes by Variety magazine, it could prove a tough sell unless it is repackaged, compressed, and sold as one movie, warns the Bloomberg's critic. "Unless some trimming is done, the rebellion of a lone critic may turn into a public uprising."