Directed by Walter Salles ("Central Station"), "The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004) stars Gael García Bernal ("Y tu mamá también," "Amores perros") in the role of Che Guevara.
A combination docudrama and travelogue, the Spanish-language "Motorcycle Diaries" chronicles a long, unhurried, circuitous trip from Buenos Aires to Venezuela that Guevara took when he was in his early twenties. The film's concept is that it was on this journey the young Guevara's consciousness was raised, which would later lead to his becoming a Marxist revolutionary and international cult figure.
Guevara took his trip with a companion, and both men wrote about it. The movie is based their books: Guevara's "The Motorcycle Diaries" and Alberto Granado's "Traveling With Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary."
The early part of the film establishes that Guevara came from privilege and includes a stopover with the wealthy family of his girlfriend. But most of the movie is about Guevara and Granado on the road, and I have to say the South American scenery is beautiful.
The heart of the film takes place in Chile and Peru, where the two young men encounter poverty, exploitation, and injustice. I found the faces of some of the people they meet along the way very interesting. The high point of the movie is reached when Guevara and Granado spend three weeks at a leper colony.
But I think the weakness of "The Motorcycle Diaries" is that nothing particularly dramatic ever happens. There's not much narrative drive, and the climax comes when Guevara proposes a toast to a united Latin America and then swims across the Amazon River.
People who are into Che Guevara or have a special interest in Latin America will probably want to buy "The Motorcycle Diaries" DVD, but I would guess that many others will find it worthwhile as a rental. However, I should warn you that if you're considering watching it, I believe it's best if you're in the mood for something low-keyed.
Below I've listed all the special features of "The Motorcycle Diaries" DVD.
DVD Details:
- DVD Release Date: February 15, 2005
- Feature Run Time: 2 hours 6 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R for Language
- Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
- Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- French Dolby Digital 5.1
- English Captions for the Hearing Impaired
- French Subtitles
- Deleted Scenes (8 min. 25 sec.)
- A Moment With Alberto Granado (3 min. 15 sec.)
- Making of "The Motorcycle Diaries" (22 min.)
- A Moment With Gael García Bernal (2 min. 49 sec.)
- "Toma Una" ("Take One") With Gael García Bernal (2 min. 16 sec.)
- Music of the Road: Interview With Composer (3 min. 6 sec.)
- Cast and Filmmakers (text)
