The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
"Diarios de motocicleta" (original title)

The dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went on in his youth that showed him his life's calling.

Director:

Walter Salles

Writers:

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (book), Alberto Granado (book),

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mercedes Morán

Won 1 Oscar. Another 29 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gael García Bernal	...	Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
Rodrigo De la Serna	...	Alberto Granado
Mercedes Morán	...	Celia de la Serna (Argentina)
Jean Pierre Noher	...	Ernesto Guevara Lynch (Argentina) (as Jean-Pierre Noher)
Lucas Oro	...	Roberto Guevara (Argentina)
Marina Glezer	...	Celita Guevara (Argentina)
Sofia Bertolotto	...	Ana María Guevara (Argentina) (as Sofía Bertolotto)
Franco Solazzi	...	Juan Martín Guevara (Argentina)
Ricardo Díaz Mourelle	...	Uncle Jorge (Argentina) (as Ricardo Diaz Mourelle)
Sergio Boris	...	Young Traveler (Argentina)
Daniel Cargieman	...	Young Traveler (Argentina) (as Daniel Kargieman)
Diego Giorzi	...	Rodolfo (Argentina)
Facundo Espinosa	...	Tomás Granado (Argentina)
Matias Gomez	...	Kid (Argentina) (as Matías Gómez)
Diego Treu	...	Kid (Argentina)

Storyline

In 1952, twenty-three year old medical student Ernesto Guevara de la Serna - Fuser to his friends and later better known as 'Ernesto Che Guevara' - one semester away from graduation, decides to postpone his last semester to accompany his twenty-nine year old biochemist friend 'Alberto Granado' - Mial to his friends - on his four month, 8,000 km long dream motorcycle trip throughout South America starting from their home in Buenos Aires. Their quest is to see things they've only read about in books about the continent on which they live, and to finish that quest on Alberto's thirtieth birthday on the other side of the continent in the Guajira Peninsula in Venezuela. Not all on this trip goes according to their rough plan due to a broken down motorbike, a continual lack of money (they often stretching the truth to gain the favor of a variety of strangers to help them), arguments between the two in their frequent isolation solely with each other, their raging libidos which sometimes get ...

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Plot Keywords:

friend | motorcycle | che guevara | venezuela | diary | 

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Taglines:

Before he changed the world the world changed him

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Pandasia Entertainment [tw]

Country:

Argentina USA Chile Peru Brazil UK Germany France

Language:

Spanish Quechua Mapudungun

Release Date:

24 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Motorcycle Diaries

Filming Locations:

Argentina

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$24,918 (Hong Kong) (5 November 2004)

Gross:

$16,756,372 (USA) (11 February 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, South Fork Pictures, Tu Vas Voir Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alberto Granado flew to Temuco, Chile from Cuba, to act as a technical consultant for some scenes. He was interviewed outside the real "Diario Austral" in Temuco.

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Goofs

On the boat to San Pablo, Ernesto writes in a notebook with a pencil. When he gets up to look for his bag, the notebook and pencil are gone.

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Quotes

Leper from San Pablo: Why did you want to be a doctor?
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: I wanted to be useful, somehow.
Leper from San Pablo: You're wasting your time.
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna: Why?
Leper from San Pablo: Life is pain.

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Crazy Credits

The real Alberto appears at the very end of the film just before the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in My Blueberry Nights (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Felíz Cumpleaños"
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
Editorial Summy-Birchard Music
Una División de Summy-Birchard Inc. (ASCAP)
by arrangement with Warner - Chappell Music, Inc.

User Reviews

A Politically Thoughtful and Pretty Grand Tour of South America

"The Motorcycle Diaries" (Diarios de motocicleta) works more effectively as a bio-pic than on its own as a road movie.

The scenery throughout Latin America is beautiful and the two leads are very affecting, especially Gael García Bernal as Ernesto Guevara de la Serna when "Che" is still nascent.

But it's surprising how undramatic what happens that turns a sweet, middle-class med student into a revolutionary. He was already a liberal who wanted to help leprosy patients, so what happens isn't a complete turn-around -- even when they are broke, they can wire home for more money. Rather it sets off an internal thoughtfulness that is difficult to catch on film.

Mostly just leaving his sheltered life, particularly being dropped by his wealthy girlfriend, and seeing the continent, especially his first exposure to the indigenous peoples who suffer the most in every South American country even while tourists are visiting the ruins of their ancestors, becomes the nexus of his pan-continental political ideals.

He is mostly an observer and inconsistent protester of injustice, not a victim -- it's startling that his culminating noble sojourn at the leper colony, where he can put his skills and indivisible warmth to specific good, is only for three weeks.

So there's no eye-opening "Grapes of Wrath" conflict, though he is always contrasted with his carefree companion, Alberto Granado. Their close camaraderie is well-captured and Ernesto has a profound impact on him, as we learn in a final biographical summary.

It is amusing that Ernesto contradicts the stereotype of the Latin male sensualist and is a terrible dancer to the lovely soundtrack.