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Nexus Wookie -> THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004) (24/10/2011 8:33:04 PM)
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THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004)
I watched this film (directed by Walter Salles and Edgard Tenenbaum) a few years ago on Channel 4, and almost immediatly fell in love with it! It is a beautifully directed film detailing the early life of Ernesto Gueverra before he became the iconic Che; marxist icon, freedom fighter, his face adorning countless T-shirts sported by budding young revolutionists (students to you and me!).
Che was depicted by the excellent Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal and his companion Alberto Granado, by Rodrigo De La Serna (again, excellent as the fun loving , womanising sidekick).
The film recounts the 1952 expedition by motorcycle undertaken by Guevera (Che) and Alberto, two budding young doctors on a journey of self-discovery through South America. Slowly Guevera finds himself transformed by the observations of the sufferings and hardships of the poor indeginous people. Coming from middle class backgrounds, their trail leads them to places and peoples whose life, and social injustices opens their eyes, and they come to realise the importance of Latin American identity. Guevera is most affected, and he returns a changed man, his youthful exubrance now gone. In its stead, a man who realises his purpose in life.....
This film is very powerful. The encounters these two friends have, from chatting up a married woman then fleeing from her angry husband and a mob, to the endless strife caused by their stuttering motorcycle christened 'La Pedrosa' and who is like a third companion, and is in itself another character! By the end, you too as the viewer start caring for these two misfits! But all is not about fun and laughter, you can see the change that they go through as they start to meet and converse with the poor indigenous people. Guevera is most impacted by what he witnesses, the hardship and daily life struggles and injustces.
My favourite scene is toward the end when both friends take residency in a leper colony. They immerse themselves with the sick and suffering, helping them and in turn, gaining the lepers trust and affections. It is a very moving chapter of the film. All through the film you also see that Gueverra himslef is sick, he has chronic Asthma, and his attacks are excruciating. He finds in these people through his travels, a certain light. To him they are the real people, they give meaning to life not the superficial life he used to have.
By the end, in a very poignant scene, you see Alberto seeing his friend off in the airport. The plane with Ernesto as passenger flies out of view. On Alberto's face is etched the painful realisation that their lives will never be the same again. They are changed men. And his friend, Ernesto Guevara is no more. It is an achingly poignant scene. Afterward, you see the real Alberto Granado looking up to the skies, his face wrinkled. Eyes in deep thought, recalling his time as a youth- the time he shared with his close friend and the journey which they took together through the beautiful countires of Latin America, meeting people from walks of life different from their own, a journey that was to change their lives and destinies forever.
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What a brilliant fucking film!!! WHAT SAY YOU?
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