Taking a page from "The Motorcycle Diairies"

Two weeks ago, CineVerse gathered to investigate "The Motorcycle Diaries," which resulted in an absorbing discussion. Here are some of the highlights of that discourse:

WHAT IS SURPRISING ABOUT THIS MOVIE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE MAIN PROTAGONIST, WHO WOULD LATER BECOME THE REVOLUTIONARY ICON CHE GUEVARA?

·       It’s not a polemic or politically themed film; it doesn’t attempt to take sides, draw you into any political debate or depict any of the events involving the Cuban revolution or Che’s involvement with Castro

·       Instead, it’s a simple, sweet, coming-of-age picture that has a universality to it that almost any viewer can relate to or enjoy

·       It starts out as a road picture or a buddy movie, but transforms into something else by the conclusion: a spiritual awakening spurred by a series of epiphanies

·       The cinematography and natural South American landscapes are stunningly beautiful, which serve as striking contrasts to the squalid, insufferable conditions of many of the natives the boys encounter

·       This is the ultimate “shot on location” film, as the filmmakers chose to shoot along the exact route that Guevara and Granado took 50 years earlier

HOW IS THIS FILM DIFFERENT FROM OTHER BIOPICS THAT ATTEMPT TO RECREATE THE LIFE OF AN HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT FIGURE?

·       It doesn’t announce in any titles or voiceover that this is based on a true story or actual events

·       Hence, it can be enjoyed by audiences simply as a road picture, a buddy movie, a coming-of-age story, etc. In other words, you don’t need to know that the main character becomes Che Guevara the revolutionary poster boy to appreciate it

·       It actually plays less like a biopic based on historically accurate events than as a travelogue journey

·       The director doesn’t rely on swelling emotional music or tug-on-your-heartstrings cues to manipulate you into feeling that “this is the moment when Ernesto became Che.”

·       The filmmaker’s also aren’t trying to hit you over the head with a particular message or moral to the story

·       The movie also doesn’t attempt to summarize all of Ernesto’s life (before and after the events of the film) so that you have to draw some grand conclusion

WHAT THEMES ARE TACKLED IN THIS FILM?

·       The loss of innocence

·       How a person makes the maturity jump from childhood to adulthood: the arc of the film depicts hedonism and idealisms initially, but later the characters progress to humanism and compassion

·       Spiritual awakening provoked by an urge to help others

WHAT OTHER MOVIES DOES THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES BRING TO MIND?

·       Y Tu Mama Tambien, also a hedonistic road movie about 2 boys starring Gael Garcia Bernal

·       Easy Rider: another road film, also using a motorcycle as the means of travel

OTHER FILMS BY WALTER SALLES

·       Central Station (screened by CineVerse a few years ago)

·       Behind the Sun

·       Dark Water (a horror film starring Jennifer Connelly)

·       On the Road (2012 movie based on Jack Kerouac’s famous book)