[edit] # 15:06

Vrom Vroom.. kaput

Finally made the time to see the MOTORCYCLE DIARIES last week. The movie is wonderful as a road movie and reminded me of movies such as BROWN BUNNY (just the road aspect) and INDOCHINE (in the traveling as transformation aspect). Gael Garcia Bernal does an excellent job of being likeable as an actor. He plays Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (before he was "Che" Guevara) in 1952 Argentina.

As a young medical student, Guevara travels throughout Latin America with a friend on a motorcycle. Though he and his companion are from privileged backgrounds - they experience another side of life when they travel backroads and meet the people of Latin America. They meet coal mine workers, farmers, indigenous people, lepers, and affluent Latin Americans.

The movie is a homage to a trip that has been romanticized as THE TRIP that changed the course of Guevara's destiny from medical doctor to Socialist Revolutionary. Beautifully shot and well-acted the film shows the changes that overcome the traveling friends as they meet diverse Latin Americans and empathize with their plights. Taken as a romantic dramatization of a transformative road trip, the movie is sublimely gorgeous.

Comments: Post a Comment