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The Motorcycle Diaries (film)
Encyclopedia
At the end of the film, after his sojourn at the leper colony, Guevara confirms his nascent egalitarian, anti-authority impulses, while making a birthday toast, which is also his first political speech. In it he evokes a pan-Latin American identity that transcends both the arbitrary boundaries of nation and race. These encounters with social injustice transform the way Guevara sees the world, and by implication motivates his later political activities as a Marxist revolutionary.
Lastly, Guevara makes his symbolic "final journey" at night when, despite his asthma
, he swims across the river that separates the two societies of the leper colony, to spend the night in a leper shack, instead of in the doctors cabins. As they bid each other farewell, Granado reveals that his birthday was not in fact April 2nd, but rather August 8th, and that the aforementioned goal was simply a motivator: Guevara replies that he knew all along. The film is closed with an appearance by the real 82-year-old Alberto Granado
, along with pictures from the actual journey and a brief mention of Che Guevara
's eventual 1967 CIA-assisted execution in the Bolivia
n jungle.
went through six months of intense preparation. This groundwork included reading "every biography" about Guevara, traveling to Cuba
to speak with Guevara's family, and consulting with Guevara's then still living travel partner Alberto Granado
. Despite being in his 80's, Granado was also taken on as an adviser by Salles, and enthusiastically followed the film crew as they retraced his former journey.
Moreover, Bernal (who is Mexican) adopted an Argentine
accent and spent 14 weeks reading the works of José Martí
, Karl Marx
and Pablo Neruda
(Guevara's favorite poet). Bernal told reporters "I feel a lot of responsibility. I want to do it well because of what Che represents to the world. He is a romantic
. He had a political consciousness that changed Latin America
." As Bernal experienced locales in Chile
, Peru
and Bolivia
; with social conditions unchanged or worsened since Guevara passed through a half-century before, he took to heart Guevara's internationalist
assertion in a "fiction of nations." Bernal believes this process allowed him to "engage with Latin America", in much the same way he believes that the young Guevara had. According to Bernal, the role crystallized his "own sense of duty" because Guevara "decided to live on the side of the mistreated, to live on the side of the people who have no justice - and no voice." In surmising the similarities between his own personal transformation and Guevara's, Bernal posits that "my generation is awakening, and we're discovering a world full of incredible injustice."
Granado later stated that he appreciated the movie's effort "to dig beneath the "mythical Che", whose defiant image appears on t-shirts and posters around the world, "to reveal the flawed, flesh-and-blood Ernesto beneath."
through Chile
, Peru
, and Colombia
to Venezuela
. Key locations along the journey described in the film include:
In Argentina
: Buenos Aires
, Miramar, Buenos Aires, Villa Gesell
,
San Martín de los Andes
, Lago Frías, Patagonia
and Nahuel Huapi Lake
; In Chile
: Temuco, Los Angeles, Valparaiso, Atacama desert
, and Chuquicamata
; In Peru
: Cuzco, Machu Picchu
, Lima; The San Pablo Leper Colony
; Plus Leticia, Colombia and Caracas, Venezuela.
Reviewer Nick Cowen of The Daily Telegraph
described the scenery as "visually stunning" while remarking that "the cinematography
of fog-cloaked mountains, lush, green forests and sun burnt deserts is breathtakingly beautiful enough to serve as a travel advert for the entire continent."
reported that shortly after the films release, tour operators in the region received a surge of inquiries, with some of them even offering Che Guevara themed trips, where travelers could "follow in the footsteps of the revolutionary icon."
In May 2010, tourism chiefs in Argentina
, Bolivia
and Cuba
announced that they were working together on an international tourist route that will trace the life of Che Guevara. Although Guevara is already the focus of tourist sites in his home country of Argentina, where visitors can visit his birthplace and his family's mate
plantation, this trail entitled the "Caminos de Che", aims to allow tourists to venture to the three countries that most influenced the young Guevara's life. Diego Conca, coordinator for the Che trail in Argentina, remarked that "people all over the world ask us for more information, each month there's more interest, and now with Bolivia, we think there will be even more."
The score for The Motorcycle Diaries was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla
. The film's soundtrack was released on the Deutsche Grammophon
label in 2004.
on January 15, 2004. Granado had an invitation to the Sundance premiere, but he was refused an entry Visa by the United States. Later it was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
on May 19, and Granado was able to attend.
The film later screened at many other film festivals, including: the Auckland International Film Festival, New Zealand; the Copenhagen International Film Festival
, Denmark; the Espoo Film Festival, Finland; the Telluride Film Festival
, United States; the Toronto Film Festival, Canada; the Vancouver International Film Festival
, Canada; the Celebrating Literature in Cinema Film Festival Frankfurt, Germany; the Morelia Film Festival, Mexico; and others.
.
The New York Times
film critic, A.O. Scott, wrote that "in Mr. Salles's hands what might have been a schematic story of political awakening becomes a lyrical exploration of the sensations and perceptions from which a political understanding of the world emerges." Gregory Weinkauf of the Dallas Observer
espoused that the film "delivers as both biography and road movie, and proves itself a deceptively humble epic, an illuminating part of the Che legacy." Claudia Puig of USA Today
postulated that "the movie achieves an impressive blend of emotional resonance and light entertainment" while describing it as "more coming-of-age story than biopic" and "a transformative adventure well worth watching." Keri Petersen of The Gainesville Sun
referred to the film as "a gorgeous, poetic adventure."
Paula Nechak of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
praised director Walter Salles
by remarking that he "presents the evolutionary course of a young man who coincidentally became the dorm-room poster boy for an idealistic generation, and captures the lovely, heart-and-eye-opening ode to youthful possibility with affection and compassion." While Washington Post critic Desson Thomson lent praise for the films starring actor by observing that "what Bernal
and this well-wrought movie convey so well is the charisma that would soon become a part of human history, and yes, T-shirts."
Among the film's few detractors was Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
, who described the film's positive reviews as "a matter of Political Correctness
, I think; it is uncool to be against Che Guevara
." Ebert also criticized the film's characterization: "seen simply as a film, The Motorcycle Diaries is attenuated and tedious. We understand that Ernesto and Alberto are friends, but that's about all we find out about them; they develop none of the complexities of other on-the-road couples... Nothing is startling or poetic." Jessica Winter of The Village Voice
also criticized the film's simplistic representation of the peasantry, describing "the young men's encounters with conscience-pricking, generically noble locals" who are occasionally assembled "to face the camera in a still life of heroic, art-directed suffering".
The online review aggregator
Metacritic
gives the film a score of 75, indicating generally favorable reviews, while Rotten Tomatoes
records 82% favorable reviews among 148 reviews. Furthermore, British historian
Alex von Tunzelmann
, who reviews films at The Guardian
for historical accuracy, graded the film an A- in "History", while giving the film a B in "Entertainment". After comparing scenes from the film to the actual diaries, Tunzelmann posited that "The Motorcycle Diaries gets a lot right, it's an entertaining and accurate portrayal of the formative youth of a revolutionary icon."
Press
Lastly, Guevara makes his symbolic "final journey" at night when, despite his asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, he swims across the river that separates the two societies of the leper colony, to spend the night in a leper shack, instead of in the doctors cabins. As they bid each other farewell, Granado reveals that his birthday was not in fact April 2nd, but rather August 8th, and that the aforementioned goal was simply a motivator: Guevara replies that he knew all along. The film is closed with an appearance by the real 82-year-old Alberto Granado
Alberto Granado
Alberto Granado was an Argentine–Cuban biochemist, doctor, writer, and scientist. He was also the youthful friend and traveling companion of revolutionary Che Guevara during their 1952 trip around Latin America, and later founded the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba...
, along with pictures from the actual journey and a brief mention of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
's eventual 1967 CIA-assisted execution in the Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n jungle.
Cast
- Gael García BernalGael García BernalGael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
as Ernesto "Fuser" GuevaraChe GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist... - Rodrigo de la SernaRodrigo de la SernaRodrigo de la Serna is an Argentine actor.In 2004, he won the Silver Condor for best actor and the Independent Spirit Award for "Best Debut Performance" for the film The Motorcycle Diaries, for which he earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award...
as Alberto "Mial" GranadoAlberto GranadoAlberto Granado was an Argentine–Cuban biochemist, doctor, writer, and scientist. He was also the youthful friend and traveling companion of revolutionary Che Guevara during their 1952 trip around Latin America, and later founded the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba... - Mercedes MoránMercedes MoránMercedes Morán is a film and television actress.She works in the cinema of Argentina.-Filmography:* La Ciénaga aka The Swamp* Próxima salida * Whisky Romeo Zulu...
as Celia de la Serna - Jean Pierre NoherJean Pierre NoherJean-Pierre Noher is a Franco-Argentine theater, film and television actor.The great-nephew of famed director Max Ophüls, Noher was born in Paris, in 1956. He relocated to Argentina as a young man, and debuted on Argentine television with a part in a soap opera, Novia de vacaciones, in 1979...
as Ernesto Guevara Lynch - Lucas Oro as Roberto Guevara
- Marina Glezer as Celita Guevara
- Sofia Bertolotto as Ana María Guevara
- Franco Solazzi as Juan Martín Guevara
- Ricardo Díaz Mourelle as Uncle Jorge
- Sergio BorisSergio BorisSergio Boris is an Argentine film actor.Two of his most recent films have been the critically well received: Diarios de motocicleta and El Abrazo partido .-Filmography:*Sólo por hoy aka Just for Today...
as Young Traveler - Daniel Cargieman as Young Traveler
- Diego Giorzi as Rodolfo
- Facundo EspinosaFacundo EspinosaFacundo Espinosa is an Argentine actor, musician and film composer. He is best known for his roles in the television series Son amores, Los Roldán and Son de Fierro.- Actor :- Awards :- External links :...
as Tomás Granado - Gustavo Bueno as Doctor Hugo Pesce
- Mía MaestroMía MaestroMía Maestro is an Argentine actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Nadia Santos in the television drama Alias, and as Christina Kahlo in Frida.-Life and acting career:...
as Chichina - Alberto GranadoAlberto GranadoAlberto Granado was an Argentine–Cuban biochemist, doctor, writer, and scientist. He was also the youthful friend and traveling companion of revolutionary Che Guevara during their 1952 trip around Latin America, and later founded the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba...
as Himself (cameo at end of film)
Development
To prepare for the role of the young Che Guevara, Gael García BernalGael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
went through six months of intense preparation. This groundwork included reading "every biography" about Guevara, traveling to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to speak with Guevara's family, and consulting with Guevara's then still living travel partner Alberto Granado
Alberto Granado
Alberto Granado was an Argentine–Cuban biochemist, doctor, writer, and scientist. He was also the youthful friend and traveling companion of revolutionary Che Guevara during their 1952 trip around Latin America, and later founded the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba...
. Despite being in his 80's, Granado was also taken on as an adviser by Salles, and enthusiastically followed the film crew as they retraced his former journey.
Moreover, Bernal (who is Mexican) adopted an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
accent and spent 14 weeks reading the works of José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
(Guevara's favorite poet). Bernal told reporters "I feel a lot of responsibility. I want to do it well because of what Che represents to the world. He is a romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. He had a political consciousness that changed Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
." As Bernal experienced locales in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
; with social conditions unchanged or worsened since Guevara passed through a half-century before, he took to heart Guevara's internationalist
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
assertion in a "fiction of nations." Bernal believes this process allowed him to "engage with Latin America", in much the same way he believes that the young Guevara had. According to Bernal, the role crystallized his "own sense of duty" because Guevara "decided to live on the side of the mistreated, to live on the side of the people who have no justice - and no voice." In surmising the similarities between his own personal transformation and Guevara's, Bernal posits that "my generation is awakening, and we're discovering a world full of incredible injustice."
Granado later stated that he appreciated the movie's effort "to dig beneath the "mythical Che", whose defiant image appears on t-shirts and posters around the world, "to reveal the flawed, flesh-and-blood Ernesto beneath."
Film locales
In a journey that lasts eight months, the partners travel over 14,000 kilometers, from ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
through Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Key locations along the journey described in the film include:
In Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
: Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Miramar, Buenos Aires, Villa Gesell
Villa Gesell
Villa Gesell is a seaside village in Villa Gesell Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded in 1931, afforestating a dune field. The growth of the city allowed it to annex the nearby cities of Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul....
,
San Martín de los Andes
San Martín de los Andes
-References:* - Official website.-External links:*...
, Lago Frías, Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
and Nahuel Huapi Lake
Nahuel Huapi Lake
Nahuel Huapi Lake is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén, in Argentina. The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along faults and Miocene valleys that were later dammed by moraines.Nahuel Huapi lake, located...
; In Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
: Temuco, Los Angeles, Valparaiso, Atacama desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
, and Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is by digged volume the biggest open pit copper mine in the world, located in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago...
; In Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
: Cuzco, Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
, Lima; The San Pablo Leper Colony
San Pablo, Peru
San Pablo was the location of a leper colony in Peru, located near Iquitos. It was visited by Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado in 1952. Refer to the movie, Diarios de motocicleta, for information on their visit to the leprosia. Information can also be found in Guevara's...
; Plus Leticia, Colombia and Caracas, Venezuela.
Reviewer Nick Cowen of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
described the scenery as "visually stunning" while remarking that "the cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
of fog-cloaked mountains, lush, green forests and sun burnt deserts is breathtakingly beautiful enough to serve as a travel advert for the entire continent."
Tourist trails
The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
reported that shortly after the films release, tour operators in the region received a surge of inquiries, with some of them even offering Che Guevara themed trips, where travelers could "follow in the footsteps of the revolutionary icon."
In May 2010, tourism chiefs in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
announced that they were working together on an international tourist route that will trace the life of Che Guevara. Although Guevara is already the focus of tourist sites in his home country of Argentina, where visitors can visit his birthplace and his family's mate
Mate (beverage)
Mate , also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American infused drink, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern states of Brazil, south of Chile, the Bolivian Chaco, and to some extent, Syria and Lebanon...
plantation, this trail entitled the "Caminos de Che", aims to allow tourists to venture to the three countries that most influenced the young Guevara's life. Diego Conca, coordinator for the Che trail in Argentina, remarked that "people all over the world ask us for more information, each month there's more interest, and now with Bolivia, we think there will be even more."
Location notes
- The crew filmed in the same San Pablo Leper ColonyLeper colonyA leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
that Guevara himself had visited. According to Bernal, 85% of the people suffering leprosyLeprosyLeprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
in the film were actual lepers, with some of them having lived there when Che and Granado worked at the colony. In fact, when Granado returned with the film crew to the leprosarium of San Pablo, he found some of the people he had treated half a century earlier, remarking that "It was wonderful and amazing that they could still remember me." Granado was also pleased that buildings constructed for the scenes shot at the leprosarium were afterwards used by the patients themselves.
- The scene which features Guevara's character swimming across to the other side of the river, was filmed during three nights in which Bernal swam across the actual Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
.
Soundtrack
- See The Motorcycle Diaries (soundtrack)The Motorcycle Diaries (soundtrack)The Motorcycle Diaries is the original soundtrack of the 2004 film The Motorcycle Diaries starring Gael García Bernal...
.
The score for The Motorcycle Diaries was composed by Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
. The film's soundtrack was released on the Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
label in 2004.
Distribution
The film was first presented at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
on January 15, 2004. Granado had an invitation to the Sundance premiere, but he was refused an entry Visa by the United States. Later it was featured at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
on May 19, and Granado was able to attend.
The film later screened at many other film festivals, including: the Auckland International Film Festival, New Zealand; the Copenhagen International Film Festival
Copenhagen International Film Festival
Copenhagen International Film Festival is a film festival held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first held in 2003, and is held annually. The main award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival is the Golden Swan, which will be awarded for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best...
, Denmark; the Espoo Film Festival, Finland; the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
, United States; the Toronto Film Festival, Canada; the Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
, Canada; the Celebrating Literature in Cinema Film Festival Frankfurt, Germany; the Morelia Film Festival, Mexico; and others.
Release dates
- United States: January 15, 2004 (premiere at Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
) - France: July 7, 2004
- ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
: July 29, 2004 - United Kingdom: August 27, 2004
- United States: September 24, 2004
- ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
: October 21, 2004 - Germany: October 28, 2004
Critical reception
The Motorcycle Diaries was released to very positive reviews by critics, and received a standing ovation at the 2004 Sundance film festivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic, A.O. Scott, wrote that "in Mr. Salles's hands what might have been a schematic story of political awakening becomes a lyrical exploration of the sensations and perceptions from which a political understanding of the world emerges." Gregory Weinkauf of the Dallas Observer
Dallas Observer
The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas . At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. For a time during the early years, the paper...
espoused that the film "delivers as both biography and road movie, and proves itself a deceptively humble epic, an illuminating part of the Che legacy." Claudia Puig of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
postulated that "the movie achieves an impressive blend of emotional resonance and light entertainment" while describing it as "more coming-of-age story than biopic" and "a transformative adventure well worth watching." Keri Petersen of The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville Sun is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. It is a part of the New York Times Regional Media Group. The paper is published by James E...
referred to the film as "a gorgeous, poetic adventure."
Paula Nechak of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
praised director Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
by remarking that he "presents the evolutionary course of a young man who coincidentally became the dorm-room poster boy for an idealistic generation, and captures the lovely, heart-and-eye-opening ode to youthful possibility with affection and compassion." While Washington Post critic Desson Thomson lent praise for the films starring actor by observing that "what Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
and this well-wrought movie convey so well is the charisma that would soon become a part of human history, and yes, T-shirts."
Among the film's few detractors was Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, who described the film's positive reviews as "a matter of Political Correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, I think; it is uncool to be against Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
." Ebert also criticized the film's characterization: "seen simply as a film, The Motorcycle Diaries is attenuated and tedious. We understand that Ernesto and Alberto are friends, but that's about all we find out about them; they develop none of the complexities of other on-the-road couples... Nothing is startling or poetic." Jessica Winter of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
also criticized the film's simplistic representation of the peasantry, describing "the young men's encounters with conscience-pricking, generically noble locals" who are occasionally assembled "to face the camera in a still life of heroic, art-directed suffering".
The online review aggregator
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives the film a score of 75, indicating generally favorable reviews, while Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
records 82% favorable reviews among 148 reviews. Furthermore, British historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Alex von Tunzelmann
Alex von Tunzelmann
-Education:Tunzelmann was educated in Brighton and at University College, Oxford University. There she read history and edited both Cherwell and Isis...
, who reviews films at The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
for historical accuracy, graded the film an A- in "History", while giving the film a B in "Entertainment". After comparing scenes from the film to the actual diaries, Tunzelmann posited that "The Motorcycle Diaries gets a lot right, it's an entertaining and accurate portrayal of the formative youth of a revolutionary icon."
Awards
Wins- Cannes Film Festival2004 Cannes Film FestivalThe 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
: François Chalais Award, Walter Salles; Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Walter Salles; Technical Grand Prize, Eric Gautier; 2004. - Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Audience Award Walter Salles; 2004.
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Oscar; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original SongAcademy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
; Jorge Drexler; for the song "Al otro lado del ríoAl otro lado del río"Al otro lado del río" is an Oscar winning song, written and performed by Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler for the film The Motorcycle Diaries...
"; 2005. - Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Best Actor, Rodrigo de la Serna; Best Music, Gustavo Santaolalla; Best Adapted Screenplay, Jose Rivera; 2005.
- British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
: BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language, Michael Nozik, Edgard Tenenbaum, Karen Tenkhoff, Walter Salles;Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, Gustavo Santaolalla; 2005. - Goya AwardsGoya AwardsThe Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
: Goya; Best Adapted Screenplay, José Rivera; 2005. - Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Independent Spirit Award; Best Cinematography, Eric Gautier; Best Debut Performance, Rodrigo de la Serna; 2005.
Related films
-
- See also: Media related to Che Guevara
- Chasing Che, 2007, developed by National Geographic Adventure, A ten-week series featured on V-me.
- CheChe (film)Che is a two-part 2008 biopic about Ernesto 'Che' Guevara directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio del Toro. Rather than follow a standard chronological order, the films offer an oblique series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline...
, 2008, directed by Steven SoderberghSteven SoderberghSteven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
& starring Benicio del ToroBenicio del ToroBenicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
as Che, (268 min). - Travelling with Che Guevara, 2004, directed by Gianni Mina, Documentary, (110 min).
- See also: Media related to Che Guevara
External links
- Official Trailer
- How Has the World Changed You ? - Personal Travel Testimonials
- Che's Route Revisited on Authentic Period Norton Motorcycles
- NPR Audio Report: Film Looks at Twentysomething Che Guevara by David Edelstein
Press
- Walter Salles, The Motorcycle Diaries by Michelle Bryant, IFP, Oct 5 2004
- On the Trail of the Young Che Guevara The New York Times, December 19 2004
- A Rebel-to-be Takes to the Road. Viva Che! San Francisco Chronicle, October 1 2004
- Take Inspiration From Che and Discover South America by Easier Travel, June 3 2009
- The Motorcycle Diaries: How Ernesto turned into Che Guevara by Stephen Philip, Socialist Worker, August 2004
- Motorcycle Diaries: Che Guevara and the Romance of Revolution by Megan Cornish, Freedom Socialist, December 2004