| THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES Diarios de Motocicleta |
 2004 - USA / Argentina / Chile / Peru
Director: Walter Salles
- Reviewed by Vickie
The film, based on the memoirs of Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Ché" Guevara and his best friend, Alberto Granado, chronicles the duo's 1952 motorcycle road trip from Buenos Aires, Argentina, up along the western coast of South America, all the way to Venezuela. Ernesto (Gael García Bernal), nicknamed "Fuser," was a 23-year-old med student finishing up medical school when the journey began, and Alberto (Rodrigo Del la Serna) was 29, pudgy and a biochemist. Together, they set out—as the trailers state—to discover a continent they knew only from books, and the resulting travels would eventually help shape both men for their respective futures. Essentially a leisurely travelogue, Diaries follows the men from country to country, and town to town, as they try to make their way northward. Not surprisingly, assorted mishaps, mistaken identities and misadventures ensue, not the least of which is the repeated angst they suffer as a result of their dilapidated, on-its-last-legs motorcycle. They make pit stops to do things like visit Fuser's girlfriend, chat with migrant workers and assist in the operation of a medical clinic at a leper colony. Blessed with some beautiful cinematography and two incredibly likable leads, the film is a relaxing look at the early years of a man who would become a political legend. Sporting a mop-top hairdo that made him look a whole lot like Freddie Prinze Jr., Bernal is the ideal blend of youthful exuberance/insecurity and budding social awareness/responsibility. He's like a grown-up teenager, or a childlike adult. Fuser matures on the trip and emerges a wiser man. Del la Serna, meanwhile, is an irresistible screen presence who overflows with warmth and good humor. His Alberto embraces life and all its foibles, good or bad, and makes for an excellent traveling companion, comic foil and unwavering bastion of loyalty. Diaries packs a lot of emotional punch into its final quarter (when the pair have actually stopped moving), which makes it that much more of a joy to watch. As the pieces of the story are gathered from place to place like souvenirs, you wonder how they'll all fit together in The Big Picture. And, when they do, the impact of the proceedings becomes that much more powerful. As I said, for a while I thought I was just watching a "here's what Ché did on his winter vacation!" movie, but it's much more than that. It's packed with heart, humor, sadness and surprise and made me want to embrace its wanderlust spirit, strap on a helmet, find an old scooter and set out for parts unknown. |
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The Motorcycle Diaries is deceptively simple and, as a result,
wonderfully fulfilling. As the film was winding down, I thought to
myself, "Gee, not much happened in this movie." Then, as if on cue,
there was a slide-show-like retrospective of all the people, places and
events the main characters encountered over the previous two hours.and
I suddenly realized how wrong I was.
