| Having received good reviews from Cannes, and elsewhere, as well as being given the honour of opening the Edinburgh Film Festival, I thought The Motorcycle Diaries was worth a look. I wasn�t disappointed. South America is portrayed beautifully in this film about a 23 year old Che Guevara going on a road trip with his friend Alberto Granado. The two set off on the rather battered �Mighty One� intending to bike from Buenos Aires to Caracas, Venezuela, passing through Chile and Peru on the way. I would also worn that they lose the bike pretty early on, but the interaction they have with the South American people increases greatly, so that really isn�t a bad thing.
The young Guevara, played by a fabulous Gael Garcia Bernal, leaves his comfortable home in Buenos Aires where he is studying to be a doctor. Alberto is a biochemist. As they travel, they see some of the abject poverty that led Guevara to become the iconic revolutionary that is remembered. The movie has its light-hearted moments, but it is the scenes of the poor, clinging to dignity that really hit home. One of the most touching moments is when Guevara swims across the Amazon (despite having asthma�hmm) so he can celebrate his birthday with some lepers, rather than those that treat them.
A visually arresting and emotionally moving film, The Motorcycle Diaries is wonderful. It is in Spanish with English subtitles so you can look all intelligent watching a foreign film too. One amusing thing to look out for if you can be bothered to watch until the end of the credits, you still get the usual disclaimer saying none of the characters are based on real people. Okay then.
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