One of the films that I managed to catch while attending the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2004 was this movie adaptation of THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, a collection of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's travel journals while on break from his medical studies in his native Argentina (every college kid who feels compelled to don that ubiquitous "Che" t-shirt in some generic form of protest might want to rent this movie). Directed with grace by Walter Salles on location throughout scenic South America, DIARIES chronicles Ernesto's journey through South America with his friend Alberto Granado as they snake their way through Chile and Peru. The early stages of their journey provide fodder for some lighter moments, especially as they contend with Alberto's titular motorbike (which they dub "the mighty one") and their chronic money woes. Soon, however, we begin to see that this journey is not just a physical one for young Ernesto but a spiritual and philosophical one, as well. As they begin to encounter some of the continent's disenfranchised peasants, he begins to ask more questions about the social inequities that are ravaging his compadres and develops a conscience that comes to the fore when the travellers make their way to a Peruvian leper colony. Played with magnetic charm by a doe-eyed Gael Garcia Bernal (for a meatier performance, check out his other 2004 offering, Pedro Almadovar's masterful BAD EDUCATION), the "Che" Guevara of DIARIES shows us a young man coming to grips with the realities of a harsh world from which he had been previously sheltered. It's fascinating to revisit the formative years of such a complex, misunderstood figure like Guevara, but if I have one complaint to make about the film, it would be its lack of a discernible connection between the kind-hearted free-thinker found here and the revolutionary whose involvement in Fidel Castro's violent military campaigns helped make him an icon (a gap that the DVD extras don't bother to address). Knowing what was to come in Guevara's life, the tale here feels incomplete. All the same, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES is an often breathtaking film journey that's worth taking.

I loved Motorcycle Diaries, with its political back ground running along side some beautiful scenery of South America. A true story of the not yet famous medical student Che Chavara travelling with his best friend on a Norton motorcycle in the early 50's around South America.

Slowly unvailing the poverty and capitalism that had taken over parts of the continent, while bringing a smile and hope to the people they met on the way. A must see!