Like one of the previous reviewers I also recently saw 'Comandante' on Canadian cable outlet CBC Newsworld...
Nothing earth shattering to report here: to the extent that I'm even having trouble labeling the movie interesting, which is quite a surprise considering the array of historically significant topics and events it touches on - though I must say seeing Fidel sport a black pair of Nikes as he paces around his office (apparently on regular basis to get exercise) might alone be worth the price of admission.
Observant audience members will also notice he grows his fingernails long for no apparent reason, which I guess is the kind of vanity one engages in after ruling a nation with an iron fist for 40+ years.
Those expecting Bill O'Reilly-type barrage of aggressive queries thrown Fidel's way will be more than disappointed. If you've ever wondered what it would be like if Robin Leech and pre-'View' Barbara Walters morphed into single person who then got an assignment to interview a sitting president.... well, you may have gotten your answer in Stone's laid back style.
Though it's clearly not all Oliver's fault, I'm really none the wiser about Fidel after 'Comandante' than I was, say, about JaRule following his appearance on MTV's 'Cribs'.
The reasons why this 2-colourful-guy chitchat ended up on TV instead of being released in the theaters are very much political and duly reflect America's current paranoid social climate.
However, in the end the movie actually profited from such skullduggery since even on the small screen I found it only marginally arousing. Having to pay $12 ticket for this would really be a bummer.
