The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

Original title

Diarios de motocicleta

Directed by

Walter Salles

Genre

drama film, adventure film, road movie, biographical film, coming-of-age film

Country

Peru, Argentina, Chile, Germany

Runtime

2h 06m

Rated

R

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 1,437 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 1952, two young men travel across South America on a rickety motorcycle. Along the way, they see the harsh lives of poor people. This changes how one of them sees the world.

contemplativeearnesteye-openingbittersweetslow-burngroundedobservational

What happens

The Motorcycle Diaries (Spanish: Diarios de motocicleta) is a 2004 biographical coming-of-age road film directed by Walter Salles from a screenplay by José Rivera, based on Che Guevara's 1995 memoir of the same name and Alberto Granado's memoir Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary. The film recounts the 1952 expedition, initially by motorcycle, across South America by Guevara and Granado, observing the life of the impoverished indigenous peasantry. Through the trip both of them witness the social classes struggle in Latin America. It stars Gael García Bernal (who had previously played Che in the 2002 miniseries Fidel) as Guevara, and Rodrigo de la Serna as Granado (Serna himself is second-cousin to Guevara on his maternal side). The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 15 January 2004, and was later added into the main competition of the 57th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. It was received with positive reviews from critics. At the 77th Academy Awards, Rivera was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay category, while Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler won the Best Original Song category for "Al otro lado del río". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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