|
The Motorcycle Diaries review
:. Director: Walter Salles
:. Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Mia Maestro
:. Running Time: 1:55
:. Year: 2004
:. Country: UK
|
Che as a backpacker. Or how The Motorcycle Diaries by Walter Salles shows an icon of the Revolution before he becomes one. Far from aspiring to pure and simple hagiography or even less to show that behind this face stamped on t-shirts and posters of rebels all over the world hides a man in all his simplicity and honesty, the Brazilian filmmaker tells the story of a universal initiatory voyage who could very well have involved other heroes. More than an anthem to Che, The Motorcycle Diaries sings to traveling, to the discovery of the world and others, in other words, curiosity. But not only that: the film takes a look full of tenderness at a continent that has known how to keep a part of its authenticity, of its identity.
Buenos Aires. January, 1952: Ernesto Guevara, a medical student, and his friend Alberto Granado, a biochemist, leave to discover their continent on an old motorcycle which they christen the "La Poderosa" (the strong one). The Motorcycle Diaries opens on a kind of precaution to those who expect to see a portrait of Che: here, not an exceptional account, just two people on the road. The first shots give the tone at once. The project of this voyage of several months seems to come from a long reflection, a remote desire, but doesn't let strict organization get in the way. In voiceover, Ernesto's character presents it: 4000 kilometers covered in four months; method: improvisation; equipment: a 1939 Norton 500; goal: to arrive at the tip of South America before the pilot turns thirty; itinerary, the introduction of two participants who are dreamers and share a curiosity for things, etc.
The film was inspired by Che's Motorcycle Diaries as well as with Granado's book, With Che in South America. Now 82 years old, Granado accompanied the production team during filming along the same route followed by the two men at the time. The Motorcycle Diaries attempts to show, through small strokes, how these two young people discovered a direction to their life with meetings, not only with natives, but also with nature and with a certain sociopolitical reality which is still relevant, because the majority of the structural and social problems which struck them back then have still not been resolved in the age of modernism. Which gives this account a contemporary character. Very quickly, the myth of Che is erased behind a humanization of the character. Calm and shy, a bad dancer, asthmatic, but above all close to his fellow man and sensitive to the injustices that he discovers, Ernesto seems a like a sincere young man full of life, just like his traveling companion, Alberto, who's more talkative, crafty, and readily seductive. Tinted with humor, the film shows two middle-class men who during their journey refuse to frequent these circles, preferring simple folk to them. Some extracts of Che's letters addressed to his mother illustrate his impressions and sensitivity vis-à-vis the world that unfolds before his eyes. There one discovers the questioning that shakes up his mind, and the emergence of a Pan-American spirit, dreaming of unity between peoples.
Particularly, the film functions during these documentary-like scenes in which the characters talk with the locals, in particular in the sequence where they share coca leaves or when they visit the market. Always discrete, the embryo of a revolutionary spirit is deaf to the inherent amazement of the journey. Ernesto wonders how a revolution could be carried out without weapons. On the way, the fate of the Indians driven off of their lands, reminiscent of photographs by Sebastian Salgado or Martin Chambi, exacerbates his spirit of rebellion. Ernesto tells his mother that he spent one cold night next to a young destitute couple, but that this night brought him closer to the human race. Moreover, he offers them the 15 dollars that his girlfriend had entrusted to him to buy a bathing suit. After questioning, some events give him the opportunity to directly take action, as in the scene where he takes the side of the miners who have come seeking work. The many falls from the motorcycle are as much metaphors for this life training. They have to get up before continuing on the road, and when the vehicle takes its last breath, they manage to continue their journey by hitchhiking or walking. No matter what happens, it's necessary to keep the course.
The last part of film that takes place in the home for lepers where the two friends spent three weeks helping the doctors and sisters, gives the opportunity to affirm the future revolutionary's character. From the start, Ernesto goes against the rules by refusing to wear gloves when touching the patients. The night of his birthday, he launches into his first political speech, and then swims across the river that separates the sick from the healthy, symbolically unifying the two banks. As for the rest, The Motorcycle Diaries remains a film whose production, when all is said and done, gives the lion's share to its characters. Nevertheless, one of the strongest images is the last, where the real Granado waves to a plane taking off.
Moland Fengkov
Translated into English by Anji Milanovic
 Movie Reviews: British Films
read our Latest Movie Reviews
more Reviews
|
|
