The Motorcycle Diaries

So after church this evening a group of us went out to the Rialto cinema in Newmarket to see The Motorcycle Diaries.

It's 1952, and 2 friends set-out on an 8-month sightseeing journey of Latin America.

I really didn't know much about Che Guevara before seeing this film, but I found it to be quite absorbing.

There are certain traps that historical movies tend to fall into. For example, as in The Passion Of The Christ, we're never introduced to the film's main players - it seems assumed that we already know who they are.

Another clue is just how hard it is to get a handle on them. When short of money, the two pretend to be doctors to con their way into some easy cash. Or are they actually doctors? Were they joking when their qualifications were first mentioned? If this had been a Hollywood fiction starring Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, we would have been in no doubt. That this uncertainty requires some concentration from the viewer is a good thing, as it forces one to look under the surface and find their depth. That this was an accident because we weren't properly introduced to them at the start though is a shame. I think I'd have enjoyed the journey more if I hadn't wanted to get off the bike so early on.


Along the way they discover many hardships caused by man's inhumanity to man, and I found myself again forced to consider just how messed-up and abandoned this world seems sometimes.

The defining moment for me was when they break a leper-colony's rules by shaking hands with its patients. A few weeks later I had a dream in which I did the same thing. It's a good thing to dream of.

Great movie, but wallpaper. Despite my dream, I never really thought about it again. A good 128 minutes though.


7 out of 10.