The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

Director: Walter Salles

 For most of this movie you would never guess that it is about Che Guevara, the famous Central American revolutionary. Guevara is a young guy who has not formed his political views yet and is about to become a doctor. But on this road trip all across South America, Guevara experiences a sort of political epiphany. The movie is almost like a political coming-of-age story. Much of the movie is like your typical road trip movie. We see Guevara and his friend struggle through the weather, mechanical breakdowns, and all sorts of shenanigans.

But there are also times when Guevara is talking to the economically-depressed people in the rural areas of South America, when the movie is shot documentary style as if Guevara were really listening to the stories of the oppressed poor. But those scenes are a small part of the movie. The Motorcycle Diaries doesn't really feel like a Guevara origin story, instead it feels more like the beginning of his origins, and because of that it does feel a bit unsatisfying. The movie feels a bit slight when you consider at the implications the events of the movie will have on the history of Central and South America, but then again that may be the point. Big things can have small beginnings.

Grade: B