A few months back, my sister offered to lend me her copy of The Motorcycle Diaries. I was a bit busy at that time and I forgot about it. I only remembered when my friend Cez and I were talking about traveling the width of the USA and she mentioned in passing the movie, that it was about traveling (and also that it is about Che Guevara). I decided I should watch it (for the travel part) so I borrowed it from my sister and watched.
It turned out to be quite a good watch. It’s about the adventures of two friends as they made a decision to leave what they have to do and people they love behind to travel across South America. Most of us probably had the same conflicts and stayed pretending that we can do it later. But do we really NEED to do these things? Can’t the ones we love wait or at least go with us? Can we really do it later? But these two, travel they did with just a few bucks, some bags, an old motorcyle, and their wits. The epitome of the spirit of adventure.
It is also in a way a view on the plight of the rural South Americans and a glimpse of the influences behind Che Guevara’s ideology later in life. One scene of this aspect that I particularly liked is when they asked a couple they met along the way on why they are travelling. The couple responded “To work.” then threw back the question. There was silence as the friends took the answer in and finally answered “We travel just to travel.” It captured the essence of the issue.
The movie is probably not for everyone but do at least give it a try to see if it is for you. If it is, you won’t be disappointed.
Rating: 4/5