The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

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) (as Ernesto Guevara), Alberto Granado (book)

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mía Maestro

Won 1 Oscar. Another 35 wins & 48 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gael García Bernal	...	Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
Rodrigo De la Serna	...	Alberto Granado
Mía Maestro	...	Chichina Ferreyra
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 Kargieman	...	Young Traveler (Argentina)
Diego Giorzi	...	Rodolfo (Argentina)
Facundo Espinosa	...	Tomás Granado (Argentina)
Matias Gomez	...	Kid (Argentina) (as Matías Gómez)

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:

travel | motorcycle | 20th century | year 1952 | woman | 

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Taglines:

Before he changed the world the world changed him

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

Argentina USA Chile Peru Brazil UK Germany France

Language:

Spanish Quechua Mapudungun

Release Date:

15 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Motorcycle Diaries

Filming Locations:

Venezuela

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$159,819, 26 September 2004

Gross USA:

$16,781,387

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,663,224

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, Wildwood Enterprises, 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

When Ernesto and Alberto are in Temuco, walking with the bike and reading "El Diario Austral," Alberto complains because they misspelled his last name. El Diario Austral still exists, and it's the biggest newspaper in the Araucanía region of southern Chile. During filming in Temuco, the newspaper wrote a new article about the making of the film, and deliberately misspelled Alberto's last name again, 50 years later.

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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

Luz (Peru): You know a little while ago there was a bufeo out there.
Alberto Granado: Bufeo?
Luz (Peru): They're river dolphins but we call them bufeos. Have you ever seen one?
Alberto Granado: Never. I've heard of them, but I've never seen one.
Luz (Peru): I'm going to tell you a secret.
Alberto Granado: Okay.
Luz (Peru): The bufeo's sex organs are like that of a woman's and the Indians use them to - comfort themselves. But there's a little problem. As soon as they're done, they have to kill the animal because they suffer contractions that won't let them loose.
[laughs]

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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 Carlos (2010)

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Soundtracks

Chipi Chipi
Performed by "Polito" González, Cuti Aste, Jorge Lobos, Roberto Lindl
Vocals by Maria Esther Zamora

User Reviews

Excellent Film, Deserves Award

The Motorcycle Diaries is a tale of Che's life prior to becoming a revolutionary political figure. We follow Che and his friend on a cross-country road trip, a journey into the unknown. The film was beautifully filmed. It really makes you want to travel and go to see some of the South/Central American countries.

The acting was superb. Gael Garcia Bernal is not new to the screen. He has delivered amazing performances in both Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien. He does not disappoint in this movie. Newcomer, Rodrigo De La Serna, also gives an excellent performance.

Regardless of your politics and personal views of Che, you will walk away from this movie feeling a bit better about humanity.

I'm hoping this pulls Best Foreign Oscar.