Cannes 2026: Che Guevara: The Last Companions
2026 Cannes Film Festival
On October 8th, 1967, Che Guevara and the guerrilla soldiers he led in Bolivia were ambushed by Bolivian Special Forces. The sides fought, trading casualties until the Bolivian Special Forces captured Guevara. A couple of days later, Guevara would be executed. Screening as part of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Christophe Dimitri Réveille's Che Guevara: The Last Companions gives a voice to the guerrilla soldiers who joined Guevara in this fight, letting them explain what happened over these days and their fight for survival afterwards.
When digesting history, it is easy to get caught up in legend and myth. Che Guevara is one of the most polarizing figures in modern politics, with some viewing him as a devil and some viewing him as a hero. Naturally, the narrative of his final days is one that is often morphed or dramatized to fit one of these narratives. Che Guevara: The Last Companions serves an important purpose, capturing the first-hand perspectives of those who were involved, not only explaining the events of the conflict but also what led them to that point. As they share their stories of trauma that led to their radicalization to join the fight, it is impossible not to see the human side of this conflict, building empathy and understanding. Even if one still fundamentally disagrees with the political action taken, the film offers a window into understanding how these men were pushed to fight for the cause, and generates a dialogue about the conflict that is often missed.
With this substance, the film runs into a natural problem when it comes to visuals. The feature is ultimately made of stitched-together talking head interviews. Visually, the film lacks a natural way to engage the audience, so the filmmaker makes a genius move by using animated visuals to bring these stories to life as they are told. The animation gives the memories being shared a unique visual personality, allowing the jungles of Bolivia and the emotions of the individuals involved to be realized. This elevates the project tremendously. While the feature is still undeniably going to work best for those who already hold some context and passion for the events being told, there is enough here that general audience members will be able to feel engrossed. The film also works towards this goal by generating a compelling story in the second half of the film, following these soldiers as they try to find a way out of Bolivia following the combat.
Che Guevara: The Last Companions is such an important text. It is a vital use of cinema and documentary filmmaking to capture the first-hand accounts of what is happening across the world and throughout modern history. While others will be able to tell the timeline of events and piece together details based on collected records, no one can share the details and emotions that these individuals can. Collected through this film, these stories and voices will now live forever.
