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Review: The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motocicleta) (2004)
This was an interesting movie. It had meaning, but it wasn't so serious that it made it hard to enjoy. The acting was pretty good too, especially from Gael Garcia Bernal.
When the movie started and we were introduced to our main characters, I was like "hey, his name is Ernest Guevara, like Che Guevara, isn't that funny?" It wasn't until 80 minutes in when I looked the movie up on Wikipedia that I realized that this was supposed to be a biopic lol. So I watched most of this movie as just a road trip movie, but I think I got more out of it that way.
Spoilers.
Story
This movie was about Che Guevara and Alberto Granado taking a road trip, and learning some things along the way. Referred to mostly as Ernesto throughout the movie, Ernest was a medical student, and Alberto was a biochemist. Their destination was a leper colony in Peru, but they did some sightseeing on their journey there.
Before I realized that this movie was a biopic, when Ernesto and Alberto were getting to know Indigenous people in Peru, I felt that this movie was trying to show us how Ernesto came to be radicalized, and I guess that's not so far off from the intention. Ernesto was becoming very interested and sympathetic to the challenges faced by the Indigenous peoples.
At the leper colony, Ernesto was further exposed to a society where the line between the have and have-nots (in this case, the healthy and the unhealthy) was very distinct. In his attempt to swim across the Amazon, I think Ernesto wanted to prove to himself that it was possible to bridge the gap, which he did.
Plot wise, this movie was straightforward, but the real action was happening within Ernesto. Over the course of the movie, he seemed to retreat more and more into himself, and it was clear that he was working things out in his mind. I think it was good that the movie didn't spell it out for us. Instead, it simply showed us that Ernesto was on his journey. The fact that the movie kept it vague also meant that it didn't need to take a hard political stance, and allowed the movie to focus on Ernesto as a person.
Production
Ernesto and Alberto were the two mainstay characters of the movie, and everybody else was just in and out, so it was important that Ernest and Alberto were strong characters. Both were well acted, but I think Ernesto left a bigger impression on me, particularly because of how his character was written.
In terms of the props and costumes and settings, all of those were very well done. I really felt like I was on a road trip with Ernesto and Alberto as they trekked through South America, whether on their run-down motorcycle or on foot.
The editing style of the movie was also interesting, with the black-and-white photos showing up in intervals. I think those photos represented the people who left a lasting impression on Ernesto. They were obviously staged, because the people would be looking straight at the camera, which is why I interpreted those photos as more of Ernesto's internal thoughts rather than memories.
Characters
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna "El Fuser" aka Che Guevara
At the beginning, Ernesto was just a normal guy going on a road trip. He was a medical student, and this was just supposed to be a fun trip. In fact, his family was very supportive of him going on the trip.
At first, the road trip was just about Ernesto and Alberto getting their bearings. They first visited Ernesto's girlfriend (who later broke up with him), ran into tons of motorcycle problems, and it wasn't until they got to Peru that they finally got into the rhythm of their trip.
In Peru, Ernesto and Alberto spoke to a lot of the Indigenous peoples there who were forced off their lands and struggled to make ends meet. It was clear that Ernesto was very sympathetic to them. He later revealed that he had given the $15 USD he had gotten from his (ex-)girlfriend to an Indigenous couple who struggled to find work. Ernesto and Alberto then went around interviewing Indigenous locals. They got to the Machu Picchu, where they had a brief conversation where Alberto thought about marrying an Indigenous woman and helping the local Indigenous people, but Ernesto shot down his idea. At this point, Ernesto definitely was thinking about the same things as Alberto was, but it felt like Ernesto was more grave and serious about it. He was more concerned with the practicalities of it because he thought that he could maybe actually do something about it.
At the leper colony, that's when Ernesto started really putting his thoughts into words. Like I said, the line between the healthy and unhealthy was so stark, which further grew the discomfort that Ernesto had felt. As well, Ernesto himself was sick, but why was he not sequestered like the lepers were? Was it simply because he was rich? Of course, there were other things like the sisters not giving Ernesto and Alberto food for not attending mass, which felt kind of arbitrary in their minds.
At Ernesto's birthday, he gave a toast that was more political in nature, talking about breaking down borders among the South American nations.
At the end of the movie, while Alberto was going to continue his career, Ernesto said that he had to think things through, implying that he wasn't sure he wanted to just be a medical professional anymore.
Like I said, Ernesto' journey was not made super obvious. We saw it more in terms of how Ernesto acted and spoke, and at the end of the movie, he still hadn't articulated his specific thoughts, but I think the movie was still enough to show us how the journey affected him.
I think Gael Garcia Bernal did a good job in showing us an Ernesto whose interest and ambition in politics grew as he met different people and heard their stories.
Alberto Granado
While Alberto had the exact same physical journey as Ernesto, he was a lot more easygoing. Their conversation at Machu Picchu hinted that while Alberto was similarly sympathetic, I think he still felt that he had no practical shot at helping others. I think his plan was more of an idealistic dream, something he might have done if he wasn't in the life that he already was.
Towards the end of the movie, Alberto was getting an offer to work at a hospital, which was probably what he intended anyway. This was always the life he had planned, to study hard and to get a good job that would have him set. While both Alberto and Ernesto benefited from an upper class education, Alberto was not as comfortable breaking out of it was Ernesto was.
Alberto still remained a good friend to Ernesto though. The movie told us that eventually, Alberto joined up with Ernesto in Cuba.
Themes
Class differences
This was definitely the key theme in the movie that motivated and inspired Ernesto. He saw them mostly in two forms, through the challenges faced by the Indigenous peoples, and through the challenges faced by those in poor health.
Many of the Indigenous people that Ernesto and Alberto met had been forced off of their land, and had to travel far and wide for work, just to make ends meet. As for the Indigenous people who were living in the major cities, some of them struggled because they did not have an education and thus could not communicate in Spanish.
In the leper colony, many had been dropped off to live their by their families, and presumably they never saw them ever again. The split between the lepers and even those that care for them is visible, represented by the Amazon River. Ernesto didn't want to wear gloves because he felt that that would alienate those in the colony even more.
Compare that to Ernesto, who said that he saw his sickness as a blessing. I don't know if he was just saying that to comfort Silvia, but I think he did feel that having asthma gave him a specific perspective on life. He said that having asthma excused him from serving in the military, and that it also inspired him to become a doctor. But that is all a huge privilege that can be afforded to him because he belongs to a well enough family.
Overall
This was an alright movie. I don't usually like biopics, but I liked that this one wasn't so heavy-handed. It didn't tell us "why Che Guevara became a Marxist leader," it was "why Che Guevara started to question society," which I think was handled gently here.
I think this was a good drama movie, and I would probably recommend it to those looking for a drama biopic.
When the movie started and we were introduced to our main characters, I was like "hey, his name is Ernest Guevara, like Che Guevara, isn't that funny?" It wasn't until 80 minutes in when I looked the movie up on Wikipedia that I realized that this was supposed to be a biopic lol. So I watched most of this movie as just a road trip movie, but I think I got more out of it that way.
Spoilers.
Story
This movie was about Che Guevara and Alberto Granado taking a road trip, and learning some things along the way. Referred to mostly as Ernesto throughout the movie, Ernest was a medical student, and Alberto was a biochemist. Their destination was a leper colony in Peru, but they did some sightseeing on their journey there.
Before I realized that this movie was a biopic, when Ernesto and Alberto were getting to know Indigenous people in Peru, I felt that this movie was trying to show us how Ernesto came to be radicalized, and I guess that's not so far off from the intention. Ernesto was becoming very interested and sympathetic to the challenges faced by the Indigenous peoples.
At the leper colony, Ernesto was further exposed to a society where the line between the have and have-nots (in this case, the healthy and the unhealthy) was very distinct. In his attempt to swim across the Amazon, I think Ernesto wanted to prove to himself that it was possible to bridge the gap, which he did.
Plot wise, this movie was straightforward, but the real action was happening within Ernesto. Over the course of the movie, he seemed to retreat more and more into himself, and it was clear that he was working things out in his mind. I think it was good that the movie didn't spell it out for us. Instead, it simply showed us that Ernesto was on his journey. The fact that the movie kept it vague also meant that it didn't need to take a hard political stance, and allowed the movie to focus on Ernesto as a person.
Production
Ernesto and Alberto were the two mainstay characters of the movie, and everybody else was just in and out, so it was important that Ernest and Alberto were strong characters. Both were well acted, but I think Ernesto left a bigger impression on me, particularly because of how his character was written.
In terms of the props and costumes and settings, all of those were very well done. I really felt like I was on a road trip with Ernesto and Alberto as they trekked through South America, whether on their run-down motorcycle or on foot.
The editing style of the movie was also interesting, with the black-and-white photos showing up in intervals. I think those photos represented the people who left a lasting impression on Ernesto. They were obviously staged, because the people would be looking straight at the camera, which is why I interpreted those photos as more of Ernesto's internal thoughts rather than memories.
Characters
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna "El Fuser" aka Che Guevara
At the beginning, Ernesto was just a normal guy going on a road trip. He was a medical student, and this was just supposed to be a fun trip. In fact, his family was very supportive of him going on the trip.
At first, the road trip was just about Ernesto and Alberto getting their bearings. They first visited Ernesto's girlfriend (who later broke up with him), ran into tons of motorcycle problems, and it wasn't until they got to Peru that they finally got into the rhythm of their trip.
In Peru, Ernesto and Alberto spoke to a lot of the Indigenous peoples there who were forced off their lands and struggled to make ends meet. It was clear that Ernesto was very sympathetic to them. He later revealed that he had given the $15 USD he had gotten from his (ex-)girlfriend to an Indigenous couple who struggled to find work. Ernesto and Alberto then went around interviewing Indigenous locals. They got to the Machu Picchu, where they had a brief conversation where Alberto thought about marrying an Indigenous woman and helping the local Indigenous people, but Ernesto shot down his idea. At this point, Ernesto definitely was thinking about the same things as Alberto was, but it felt like Ernesto was more grave and serious about it. He was more concerned with the practicalities of it because he thought that he could maybe actually do something about it.
At the leper colony, that's when Ernesto started really putting his thoughts into words. Like I said, the line between the healthy and unhealthy was so stark, which further grew the discomfort that Ernesto had felt. As well, Ernesto himself was sick, but why was he not sequestered like the lepers were? Was it simply because he was rich? Of course, there were other things like the sisters not giving Ernesto and Alberto food for not attending mass, which felt kind of arbitrary in their minds.
At Ernesto's birthday, he gave a toast that was more political in nature, talking about breaking down borders among the South American nations.
At the end of the movie, while Alberto was going to continue his career, Ernesto said that he had to think things through, implying that he wasn't sure he wanted to just be a medical professional anymore.
Like I said, Ernesto' journey was not made super obvious. We saw it more in terms of how Ernesto acted and spoke, and at the end of the movie, he still hadn't articulated his specific thoughts, but I think the movie was still enough to show us how the journey affected him.
I think Gael Garcia Bernal did a good job in showing us an Ernesto whose interest and ambition in politics grew as he met different people and heard their stories.
Alberto Granado
While Alberto had the exact same physical journey as Ernesto, he was a lot more easygoing. Their conversation at Machu Picchu hinted that while Alberto was similarly sympathetic, I think he still felt that he had no practical shot at helping others. I think his plan was more of an idealistic dream, something he might have done if he wasn't in the life that he already was.
Towards the end of the movie, Alberto was getting an offer to work at a hospital, which was probably what he intended anyway. This was always the life he had planned, to study hard and to get a good job that would have him set. While both Alberto and Ernesto benefited from an upper class education, Alberto was not as comfortable breaking out of it was Ernesto was.
Alberto still remained a good friend to Ernesto though. The movie told us that eventually, Alberto joined up with Ernesto in Cuba.
Themes
Class differences
This was definitely the key theme in the movie that motivated and inspired Ernesto. He saw them mostly in two forms, through the challenges faced by the Indigenous peoples, and through the challenges faced by those in poor health.
Many of the Indigenous people that Ernesto and Alberto met had been forced off of their land, and had to travel far and wide for work, just to make ends meet. As for the Indigenous people who were living in the major cities, some of them struggled because they did not have an education and thus could not communicate in Spanish.
In the leper colony, many had been dropped off to live their by their families, and presumably they never saw them ever again. The split between the lepers and even those that care for them is visible, represented by the Amazon River. Ernesto didn't want to wear gloves because he felt that that would alienate those in the colony even more.
Compare that to Ernesto, who said that he saw his sickness as a blessing. I don't know if he was just saying that to comfort Silvia, but I think he did feel that having asthma gave him a specific perspective on life. He said that having asthma excused him from serving in the military, and that it also inspired him to become a doctor. But that is all a huge privilege that can be afforded to him because he belongs to a well enough family.
Overall
This was an alright movie. I don't usually like biopics, but I liked that this one wasn't so heavy-handed. It didn't tell us "why Che Guevara became a Marxist leader," it was "why Che Guevara started to question society," which I think was handled gently here.
I think this was a good drama movie, and I would probably recommend it to those looking for a drama biopic.