Jami Bernard
Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Doug Pratt
Ray Pride
Stu VanAirsdale

Motorcycle
Diaries

Directed by Walter Salles
Focus Features

There was a time when using a shirt with the unmistakable picture of Che Guevara, taken by Alberto Korda in 1960, was something that had a meaning: the person could be manifesting his/her support to the Cuban Revolution or his/her nonconformism about the social differences seen in his/her own country (and, of course, his/her statement of sympathy for the socialist ideals). However, nowadays, Guevara's bearded face has changed, ironically, into a mere product to be commercialized, and a large number of the countless youngsters that use items connected to 'Che' have no idea who Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was. Showing the image is just cool.

Fortunately, it is probable that The Motorcycle Diaries, the newest motion picture by Walter Salles, will correct this reality. At least, I hope these people will learn Che's baptism name.

Based on the books written by Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado about the long trip they took in the 50s, the movie follows the duo's trajectory from Buenos Aires, in Argentina, to the leper colony in San Pablo, in the Peruvian part of the Amazon forest. Young and about to graduate in medicine, Guevara decides to see Latin America with his biochemist friend Granado, to get to know the continent he only knew through books. Initially equipped with a motorcycle affectionately nicknamed "La Poderosa" (The Powerful), they face many problems along the journey and discover the general poverty and political oppression that would be fundamental to the ideological formation of Che.

Coming from a high middle class family, Ernesto suffers 'reality shocks', that provoke a big transformation in his way of seeing the world: at first, he is an ordinary young man, as many others, aware of the inequalities present in his country, but not worrying too much about them. His initial priorities were very simple: to meet his girlfriend in a nearby city, hoping she would correspond to his sexual advances. Gradually, however, Che and Granado understand that the traveling experiences are leaving deep marks in their lives and, when they meet a couple forced to travel to seek a job, the boys can barely hide the embarrassment caused by the lack of apparent objective in their own peregrination.

José Rivera's script is extremely skillful when illustrating the growth of Guevara and Granado and the increasing weight that they seem to carry on their shoulders - an accomplishment that makes us ignore the episodic tone of the story (a problem that is almost inevitable in road movies).

Skillfully playing the pair of protagonists, Mexican Gael García Bernal and Argentine Rodrigo de la Serna (Che's second cousin in real life) establish a great dynamic between Ernesto and Alberto. The agility of the dialogue recalls, at certain moments, the chemistry between Selton Mello and Mateus Nachtergaele in Brazilian A Dog's Will. Portraying Che Guevara for the second time in his career (the first was in a miniseries produced for an American network), Bernal lends an unmistakable aura of honesty to the character and portrays, with skill, the changes experienced by Che, who evolves from a relatively naïve young man with an optimistic point of view into a serious, bitter man because of the sad situation of the poor South America. Meanwhile, de la Serna almost steals the movie with his joyful and powerful portrait of Granado - a vivacious and incredibly charismatic person.

Already experienced in road movies (as shown in Central Station), director Walter Salles uses the beautiful locations with all the possible efficiency, turning Latin America into a character. The cinematography by Eric Gautier is breathtaking. But even more importantly, Salles guides the spectator energetically through the inner journey of the characters, modifying the tone of the narrative (becoming less 'light') as the travelers make contact with the poverty of the continent, using locals as supporting actors to give more credibility to the production. The director uses a style that is almost documentary when analyzing the abuses against the population, having Che himself as 'interviewer.' The indignation transmitted by Bernal in these scenes is worthy of applause.

The last shot of the movie, seen after the titles that remember Che's fate, is extremely powerful, showing us the real Alberto Granado - an idea used recently by Phillip Noyce in another excellent movie, Rabbit-Proof Fence.

But, without a doubt, the most effective sequence in The Motorcycle Diaries is the one that takes place in the leper colony. Besides better illustrating Guevara and Granado's humanity - they really understand the meaning of a small gesture of affection - it is used to show the cruelty of the "religious blackmail" imposed by the nuns who direct the place, and who give food only to the ones who go to the Sunday masses.

Before anyone accuses the movie of adopting an 'anti-Christian' position or something like that, it is important to emphasize that the island inhabited by the leprosy victims, although real, must be seen as a symbol of the segregation determined by the economic power or creed of each one and, under this perspective, the fact is that, unfortunately, Latin America can be seen as an immense island of lepers - but, instead of the biological disease, we are all under social, economic or political problems capable of killing many more people than the leprosy or any another illness known by Man.

Pablo Villaça - Editor
Cinema em Cena (www.cinemaemcena.com.br)
Membro da Online Film Critics Society