Fidel, titled onscreen as ¡Fidel!, is a 2002 American biographical drama television film directed by David Attwood about the Cuban Revolution and political career of Fidel Castro, played by Víctor Huggo Martin. Gael García Bernal, Patricia Velásquez, Cecilia Suárez, Manuel Sevilla, and Maurice Compte also star. The screenplay by Stephen Tolkin is based on two biographies of Castro: Guerilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro (1991) by Georgie Anne Geyer, and Fidel Castro (1993) by Robert E. Quirk. The film aired on Showtime in two parts, on January 27 and 28, 2002. The total duration of the film is 200 minutes, but the video version is shorter. García Bernal would reprise his role as Che Guevara in the 2004 feature film The Motorcycle Diaries.

Plot

The film is almost documentary in its portrayal of facts. It claims to be based strongly on facts, apart from some adaptations like merging various characters into one. After two hours, the film changes dramatically. The first two hours are about the six years before the fall of Batista's dictatorship. The last hour is about the 40 years after that. In the first two hours, Castro regularly distances himself from Communism and Communists, but after the take-over, the film suggests that Castro had always aspired a Marxist-Leninist State.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Home media

In Australia the full-length feature (204 minutes) was released on DVD by Showtime as Fidel & Che.