Review of The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) by Mathew — 31 Aug 2005

I admit it. I am biased. Almost thirty years ago I spent several years working in South America, a quarter century after Ché blew through those same places. This movie gets so many of the small things about the cultures perfectly correct that it comes as no surprise that non-actors were used in these scenes.

It is as if you are making the road trip too and that is, indeed, the strength of this movie. The quiet comraderie of the two principles is inviting. Their journey is quixotic, amusing, romantic and not a little foolhardy, but you'd die to be doing it, too! Critics have claimed that by failing to tackle the reality of Ché's future the film does a disservice to the realities of his past.

I would say that the film shows the blank slate of youth filling with experiential awareness and hinting at how those experiences might mix with the character's inherent tendencies. The future is not yet known, but the possibilities are being outlined.

I think that it is done very, very well.