Movie Review

IF you are not aware of the history behind The Motorcycle Diaries, its initial plotline may come off as a more artsy variation of the Eurotrip/Road Trip series. It's a story of the 23-year old Ernesto and his friend Granado who decides to travel South America in a old, beaten-up motorcycle that leaks oil. Their destination is to cover 8000 miles and their sole mode of survival is improvisation. What makes the trip extraordinary is the fact that Ernesto's full name is Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, and it is that very journey that instigated the flame of rebellion inside him.

The Motorcycle Diaries is an intelligent and beautiful movie that tells the story of a young Che Guevara who leaves his family, his girl friend and his otherwise comfortable life, looking for adventure. What he finds instead is beauty and sorrow intertwined, as he witnesses the struggles of people throughout the country side. Its through this journey that you see Guevara transforming from a shy introvert to a rebel idolised by many.

Director Walter Salles puts the audience squarely in the shoes of his two protagonists, and the results are gripping. For the viewer, it genuinely feels as if he or she is taking a trip through South America, meeting the diverse citizens of the countries, witnessing the gorgeously lush sites, and going through all of the experiences and pitfalls that Guevara and Granado do. In an ingenious move that brings reality and immediacy to the proceedings, lifting the film above the conventions of a mere road picture and into the realms of a true-to-life travelogue, The Motorcycle Diaries was filmed in order and on-location at all of the places Guevara and Granado visited.

Based on the journals of Che Guevara and a book by Alberto Granado, The Motorcycle Diaries is an intoxicating voyage through places rarely captured in cinema with such a degree of depth and distinctness.

Source: Internet