Comandante

The famous American director Oliver Stone got a unique opportunity: three days of unlimited access to the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. They spoke with each other for around thirty hours in a fairly relaxed and open setting. Castro turns out to be a charming, self-confident man, who seems to give straight and honest answers and is completely at ease with the different cameras around him. Obviously, both the spectator and Stone know that Castro sometimes simply rewrites history. Stone may be able to make his documentary without Castro censoring it, but both in past and recent times too he has violated human rights and sabotaged the freedom of the press by throwing journalists he thought offensive into jail. Although Stone does not entirely shrink from critical questions, he is clearly impressed by Castro. The two treat each other almost amicably and Castro sidesteps the most painful questions by reacting wittily. Interlacing the conversations with quickly edited archive footage, Stone tries to make up for an attitude that some people consider too gullible. Whether he has succeeded or not, it remains very fascinating to watch the old dictator from this close and hear his side of all those historical events, even if it is clearly an attempt to beguile the world. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)