The Motorcycle Diaries

This film is a beautiful picture of friendship while two young men journey accross South America seeking adventure. The film is based off of Ernesto Guevara journals telling about the trek he and his friend Alberto Granado endured through Latin America. Although the film showed great scenery and culture, I felt rather detached throughout the majority of the film up until the very end. At the end I realized the amazing discoveries Ernesto Guevara had made through his travels and also within himself.

The first half of the movie is spent following these two boys on their motorcycle as they travel accross Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela. The trip starts off in the boys home country, Argentina. Ernesto decides to take a break from his studies eventhough he is supposed to graduate in one more semester as a doctor. I think Ernesto knows deep down that this is the time for him to discover himself before settling down with a girl and a career. It's unclear throughout the film whether he loses his girlfriend because of his decision to travel or if she met someone else. I have a feeling that she decided to move on because she was tired of waiting around for Ernesto and was ready to get married. Ernesto had to make many sacrifices to put his life on hold so he could truly find his passion. By putting his education and family on hold Ernesto clearly discovered himself and his purpose for life. I know he made the right decision in taking this journey with Alberto.

Alberto is a man who is very different from Ernesto. He seems a lot more selfish and celf-centered. Alberto is more interested in women and one-night stands while Ernesto is more full of compassion and likes to keep his word. Alberto is great at bull-shitting, he exaggerates the truth and makes up stories to get what he wants. Ernesto is also a very honest man, he tells people the truth even if he knows they don't want to hear it. Alberto is very fake, he will tell people exactly what they want to hear even if there is zero truth to it. There could not be two more opposite personalities shown in this film, however these two do compliment eachother because they are so different form one another. A phrase in the movie really describes the relationship between these two men it says, "What we had in common-our restlessness, our impassioned spirits, and a love for the open road." I believe this is all it takes to create the inseperable bond these two formed.

The film shows amazing landscape. We see all different kinds of climates, however two specific scenes from the motorcycle journey really stick out in my mind. The first being the scene where the boys run into the cows. I just love that they were out on the open road and all of the sudden they come accross a herd of cows and didn't have any brakes on their motorcyle to stop them from hitting these helpless animals. The second scene that was beautifully filmed was the scene through the mountain climate in the Andes. It was such a contrast to see all of that snow and was unbelievable that their fragile little motorcycle could even function in the snow. We come to find out that it actually can't as the boys are left to drag their motorcycle through the freezing conditions.

My favorite part of this film is the last 10-15 minutes. I love how they ended the film with the saying from the very beginning of the movie, "This isn't a tale of heroic feats. It's about two lives running parallel for awhile, with common aspirations and similar dreams. Both Ernesto and Alberto were forever changed as they were touched by their experiences especially through their connection with the leper colony. There is a strong division between the leper people and other colonies. Both Ernesto and Alberto work towards diminishing the division between these lepers and the rest of the world. They do this by refusing to wear gloves and Ernesto also does this by swimming accross the Amazon River to join the other side on his birthday. Ernesto has begun to understand the inequities he was shown throughout his journey and does what he thinks is right to bridge that gap. As Ernesto says at the end of the film, "Wandering around our America has changed me more than I thought. I am not me anymore. At least I am not the same me I was." This is a beautiful ending to a fantastic story.