October 1967, Bolivia. The Argentinean revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara is captured and killed by government troops. After a few days, his body disappears without a trace, and is recovered thirty years later beneath the landing strip of Vallegrande airport. Only his hands are missing.
Under the motto 'The truth lies hidden in the interpretations it is made of' (a quote ascribed to Che), this exciting documentary explores the boundaries between mythologisation and historiography.
Che's hands made a world tour, from Bolivia to Moscow - where people did not regret his demise - and finally to Cuba. Fidel Castro does not appear on camera and the much-discussed hands are not shown either. But various fervent Che admirers attest to the fate of the severed hands. They still get emotional about it today. 'I had to cry when I saw them,' one eyewitness states, 'because I had still shaken those hands in 1960!'
Credits
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Production company
Zeppers Film & TV
TV company
VPRO TV
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