The Motorcycle Diaries (2003)

Want to see it?

Seen it?

0
1
2
3
4
5
Rate this movie.

Buy it now on DVD

Starting at $5.04

Want to buy it?

Write a review

Discuss it

Add to lists

Recommend it

Get recommendations

Watch trailer

Directed by Walter Salles, Jr..

Starring Gustavo Bueno, Mía Maestro, Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Jorge Chiarella.

Watch trailer

Brazilian director Walter Salles Jr. follows up the Golden Globe-nominated Behind the Sun with this filmed adaptation of Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's journals of the same name. The Motorcycle Diaries stars Gael García Bernal (Y Tu Mamá También, Amores Perros) as a young, pre-revolution Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student in 1952 traveling across South America on a motorcycle with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), who co-wrote the source material. As they embark on their journey, both young men come of age and find their individual world views broadened farther than they ever expected. The Motorcycle Diaries premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

[more]

Reviews and discussions

My new favorite movie... (for now)
by discernment in discernment Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Last year at film camp the director brought this film up, and I was very disinterested in the entire idea of it. Things have definitely changed since then, and tonight I got to share the company of myself and Gael Garcia Bernal. I was completely pleased by every aspect of this film. The conflicts these characters are going through are very profound, and had my mind pondering every aspect. I felt all the acting to be solid and every character to have his/her purpose in each scene. I would just like to point out what I thought was probably my personal favorite part of this movie… The still shot documentary style photographs. They were very powerful, and I felt them to be one of the most important pieces. " [More]

Motorcycle Diaries - Going Upri ...
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"By Tricia Olszewski Even revolutionaries pull stupid stunts and cruise for girls at some point in their lives. That’s the gist of Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries, which focuses on Argentine rebel Che Guevara and the traveling he did in 1952 at the age of 23, when the possibility of scoring a pair of sisters with his buddy was more exciting to him than the emancipation of the proletariat. Back then, Che was merely Ernesto—or “Fuser,” to his best friend, Alberto Granado. When the film begins, Alberto (Rodrigo de la Serna) is a stocky, gregarious 29-year-old biochemist from Buenos Aires who wants to see the rest of Latin America before his 30th birthday. The quieter, asthmatic Ernesto (Gael García Bernal) is about to finish medical school and is just looking for a little adventure before settling into a career as a doctor. So they say goodbye to friends and family and take off for an 8,000-kilometer trek—four months long on paper, eig ... " [More]

Take the ride of your life...
by seektv in seektv Blog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Hi, I just finished watching the DVD. I was touched and moved,"conmovido", by the movie. I enjoyed very much the Argentinian accent and how they express themselves. So frank, so free, so rich.I loved taking the ride with them. Excellent cinematography. Beautiful images at the end of the film.It's no doubt Gael and Rodrigo portrayed excellent personalities of the "Che" Guevara and Alberto Granado. Very "simpatico" characters. You want to explore with them the unknown and the injustice they come across the road.A friend of mine told me that the director Walter Salles did not reach further on his quest to go deeper as he did with Central Station with the reality of life. But to me, you can understand what is going on in south America. I don't need to go back to the 50's. He can use this movie to reflect what is Latinamerica about.You can sense it right now. But, some of us might turn the heads and close the eyes. It does not matter, with eyes ... " [More]

Gael Garcia Bernal
by azguki in azguki Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"What a beautifully crafted film! Having a bit of a travel bug myself, I thought the cinematography alone was reason enough to see this picture. Add a little of the developmental experiences of a young man's life (and what an extraordinary life it turned out to be in this case!) and you have a truly engaging and pleasant film experience. A friend I talked to after just seeing this movie, because he had made a trek to Macchu Picchu himself, told me that he preferred the book (you'll have to excuse him, he's a self-proclaimed poet). I can't imagine the book accurately capturing the sheer intense awe that is Macchu Picchu (or the South American west coast). Gael Garcia Bernal is going to be one of the biggest stars of the next decade. In any film I've ever seen him in, it is totally impossible to take your eyes off of him. Geez, I wish I was gay! " [More]

Motorcycle Diaries
by JimBell in JimBell Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Motorcycle Diaries (2004; Spanish) is the story of “Che” Guevera and his friend De La Serna’s trip from Argentina to Venezuela in 1952. The movie is a brilliant and subtle portrait of an introverted intellectual who saw the world, processed it quietly and intelligently, and came out a Communist revolutionary in Cuba and a poster idol among rebellious American teenagers of the 60s. If you do not like young people, if you hate Latinos, if you find introverts boring, if you think idealism is passé, if you shun lepers, if you suspect males, and if you condemn motorcycles and hitch-hiking as dangerous nonsense, you will object to this movie. Otherwise, prepare to enjoy a wonderful recreation of the a year in the youth of one of the West’s notorious figures. The acting by Gael Garcia Bernel, as Ernesto Guevera, is superb—his intense, intelligent gaze makes an introvert somehow interesting. Rodrigo de la Serna plays his buddy, Alberto Granada (he is ... " [More]

Your overrated list
by Risselada in Totally Over-rated

is neutral about it.

"Swingers's detail pageI thought I wouldn't like participating in this group at first because it get's frustrating complaining about movies, but I can't seem to hold myself back. Puhnner, you asked me to list some of my overrated movies, referring to my definition of overrated by ratio. Well I'm not sure if this is going by the same criteria, but I've come up with a list from another source. I also rate movies at the website movielens. It will give you recommendations based on your ratings and whatnot. It also gives some interesting statistics. For one, it tells me which movies I have rated the lowest compared to the average rating on their site. So I have looked at that list and picked several of them. The thing about this method is that I am not using what my impression of the ammount of acclaim a movie has received for the ratio but rather what the ammount of acclaim a website thinks a movie has based on the votes from it's users. Some of t ... " [More]

A great backstory...
by Kim_Kelly in Kim_Kelly Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"... but not a full picture of Che's life as an activist. I know a lot of people who didn't like this film because it didn't offer a complete history, but I thought the movie, if taken on it's own merits, was gorgeous, well-acted; a thoroughly enjoyable story. " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Even without the subtext of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's political awakening, The Motorcycle Diaries would still be a rich road movie and vibrant window into the spirit of South America. Add in some of the pivotal episodes that spurred Guevara toward activism, and Walter Salles Jr.'s film seems darn close to a historical document. It should be noted that The Motorcycle Diaries is far from a sober outing -- it has a bawdy sense of humor, and its two protagonists engage in all manner of grifting and chicanery to remain on course. Guevara himself (played by Gael García Bernal) goes so far as to brazenly seduce the wife of the man who's fixing their motorcycle (fixing it for free, at that). Without scenes like this, it would be impossible to measure the profundity of his eventual growth, gradually earned while interviewing oppressed laborers and ministering to the sick in a leper colony. By journey's end, he's matured from a feckless youth into a future revolutionary, no longer blind to the world around him. By using a number of amateur actors and a nearly documentary-style format, Salles makes Guevara's interactions with peasants as realistic as possible. Gael García Bernal is an ideal choice to play Guevara, ranging effortlessly from delight to gravitas according to the vicissitudes of the character's experience. He also acts out one of the most claustrophobic and frightening asthma attacks ever captured on film. Rodrigo de la Serna delivers a key performance as the film's other major character, Guevara's traveling companion. Loyal yet almost casually amoral, de la Serna's Alberto Granado provides an important jumping-off point for the development of Guevara's fierce integrity. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Tags: che , foreign , cuba , motorcycle , roadtrip
View all