Let The World Change You...

While The Motorcycle Diaries is not necessarily a brand new film, I finally had the privilege of seeing it this weekend. Based on the memoirs of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and written during an extensive motorcycle trip through Latin America with his friend Alberto Granada during the early 1950s, the lush scenery and intimate character development in this film is incredible.


Pictured: Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) and Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael GarcBernal) in The Motorcycle Diaries.

You almost immediately forget about the subtitles, which is often hard for me to do, and slip into what feels like an extended dream sequence. As Ernesto and Alberto cycle along, the backdrops and characters bubble with life, from sputtering along on beautiful winding mountain roads and walking among Incan ruins, to navigating through overpopulated cities, talking with displaced indigenious people, and struggling to push onward once their money has all but run out—their travels are at once invigorating and heartbreaking. I haven't seen a film for sometime that actually held my interest mentally and visually as well as this did.