2008 Woodie Awards
Film Ignores Politics, Captures Journey
Jonathan Montalvo
Issue date: 10/13/04 Section: Arts&Entertainment
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Brazilian director Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries accompanies two men on an enlightening journey that shapes the ideals they lived by, and in one rider's case, an ideal he would ultimately die by.
Under the influence of Fidel Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara was responsible for successfully overthrowing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in 1959.
He is also loathed for his "guerilla warfare" tactics, communist ideology and his direct role in the execution of Cuban defectors and Batista loyalists.
After unsuccessfully leading troops into Bolivia to motivate peasants and farm workers to start a revolution across Latin America, Guevara was killed at 39-years-old.
His life stands as an inspiration to some and a disgrace to others, but his effect on the masses is still prevalent today.
This film is not about Guevara the revolutionary. It is based on Guevara's diaries that he kept while on the road as a young man.
The plotline follows two Argentinian men; Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, a 23-year-old medical student and Alberto Granado, a 29-year-old biochemist as they embark on a journey across South America on an old, beat-up motorcycle donned "The Mighty One."
The two romantics set out to discover the real South America and along the way, bear witness to the diversity and complexity of their own continent.
The excursion causes them to reassess their perspectives, values and purposes in life.
Guevara is played by Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien). It is hard to say whether or not Bernal accurately depicts Guevara as a young man, but his interpretation of the pre-revolutionary general is insightful and revealing.
Aided by superb direction and screenwriting, Bernal manages to portray Guevara in a new light, digging depth into the superficial image we only think we know.
Bernal depicts a young man torn in two by his compassion for the exploited farm workers and anger towards the establishment.
Guevara is finding his identity and purpose in the film and nothing about him is resolved. This is intriguing in its' glaring contradiction to the stubborn, idealistic perception of the "Che" that is widely recognized.
Under the influence of Fidel Castro, Ernesto "Che" Guevara was responsible for successfully overthrowing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in 1959.
He is also loathed for his "guerilla warfare" tactics, communist ideology and his direct role in the execution of Cuban defectors and Batista loyalists.
After unsuccessfully leading troops into Bolivia to motivate peasants and farm workers to start a revolution across Latin America, Guevara was killed at 39-years-old.
His life stands as an inspiration to some and a disgrace to others, but his effect on the masses is still prevalent today.
This film is not about Guevara the revolutionary. It is based on Guevara's diaries that he kept while on the road as a young man.
The plotline follows two Argentinian men; Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, a 23-year-old medical student and Alberto Granado, a 29-year-old biochemist as they embark on a journey across South America on an old, beat-up motorcycle donned "The Mighty One."
The two romantics set out to discover the real South America and along the way, bear witness to the diversity and complexity of their own continent.
The excursion causes them to reassess their perspectives, values and purposes in life.
Guevara is played by Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien). It is hard to say whether or not Bernal accurately depicts Guevara as a young man, but his interpretation of the pre-revolutionary general is insightful and revealing.
Aided by superb direction and screenwriting, Bernal manages to portray Guevara in a new light, digging depth into the superficial image we only think we know.
Bernal depicts a young man torn in two by his compassion for the exploited farm workers and anger towards the establishment.
Guevara is finding his identity and purpose in the film and nothing about him is resolved. This is intriguing in its' glaring contradiction to the stubborn, idealistic perception of the "Che" that is widely recognized.