The Motorcycle Diaries
Let the world change you... and you can change the world
Rating: 8/10
Running Time: 128 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
Che Guevara is known by many people as many things: revolutionary, guerrilla, t-shirt salesman. The Motorcycle Diaries, though, goes all-out to humanize the legend like never before, charting a period in Guevaras life pre-dating the beard and silly hat for which weve all come to know and love him.
In 1952, when Guevara (played here by Gael Garcia Bernal) was a 23-year-old student doctor in Argentina, he and pie-loving pal Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De la Serna) set out to travel the length of South America perched on one tiny run-down motorcycle. They planned it as a journey of self-discovery, a chance to see the people and places making up their continent, and finished the whole thing off by putting their medical skills to the test with a visit to a leper colony. Actually, it all sounds like pretty good fun (although if I was doing it Id maybe give the bit with the lepers a miss).
Here, in little over a couple of hours, Brazilian director Walter Salles brings us along on their epic journey. Its a story based on the books Guevara and Granado wrote afterwards (youd think they could have met up and written a book together, instead of writing two books about the same thing!), so we can assume its a reasonably accurate, if massively truncated, account of what went on.
To be honest, the whole things a little bit disjointed in how it moves from one scene to the next. Salles seems rushed in places, and perhaps could have done with taking his time a bit more and making the end product a little longer. However, two predominant aspects still shine through. The first is the touching friendship between the two men, shown perfectly by a pair of actors who work incredibly well together and show a lot of chemistry. The second is the jaw-dropping scenery, particularly as our intrepid buddies reach the one-time home of the Incas and take in the wondrous if slightly run-down temples.
Salles is less than subtle in his attempt to deliver his message, particularly towards the end as were spoon-fed a Guevara speech about a united America and the whole thing becomes increasingly cloying and preachy. But it looks fantastic, the performances are spot on, and theres some really nice witty dialogue to prevent it from becoming too heavy. Theres a lot to love about this movie.
It's Got: A really bad joke about Incas and Inca-pables. No, hold on a sec I just got it! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Incas and INCA-pables! Genius.
It Needs: A decent motorcycle!! Its not long into the film before you realise why.
Summary
See it, do it, buy the t-shirt.