The Motorcycle Diaries
Some Glenn Beck follower was ranting to me the other day about how ‘evil’ Che Guevara was and how he had enslaved the people of Cuba. In a very odd coincidence Beck himself had just devoted a large amount of his daily wasted-airtime to that very subject, earlier in the week. Yes, we know you just regurgitate what your leader tells you- it’s not a secret. Anyways, I felt it just to interject a little truth into a drop-out slanderer’s tale about a Doctor of Medicine. That’s right, as I’m sure many of you don’t know Dr. Ernesto “Che” Guevara was indeed a Medical Doctor and a citizen of Argentina, not Cuba Glenn. In fact, Guevara spent little time in Cuba once his work in the Revolution was over, and none of it was spend oppressing or torturing citizens as Beck posed on his show. Truthfully, the country Che is most commonly associated with plays little importance in this story. Our Journey begins in Argentina and takes us through the agrarian countryside of 1950’s South America via motorcycle. The guide is a wide-eyed young Ernesto Guevara on a break from Medial School, long before the world knew the iconic name of “Che”…
At first Ernesto and his friend Alberto set out to enjoy a euphoric motorcycle trip through the beautiful mountains and coasts of Chile and continuing up through Venezuela. They begin as typically naïve, privileged youth, in search of nothing but a good time, but they are quickly taken aback by the heinous poverty which plagued the countryside of Latin America. For Guevara it was a first glimpse at the evil which separates humans into grossly disproportionate classes- one getting richer while the other inevitably gets poorer. The road trip turns into a Mecca as the men visit Machu Picchu and Ernesto contemplates the basis of society and revolution. The acting in this movie is paramount. You can literally see the spark begin to glimmer in young Che’s eyes as Alberto says, “A revolution without guns? That will never work.” Soon after this, the two decide to forgo the rest of their hedonistic voyage and spend the last three weeks of their time volunteering in a Leper colony in San Pablo.
However, I don’t want to give away too much about this film because it’s an amazing watch, which I want everyone to enjoy for themselves. Suffice it to say the young medical student’s compassion exceeds every doctor’s in the colony and culminates in truly inspiring fashion. Most impressively, this film serves as an in-depth look into the heart and mind of one of the World’s most infamous individuals- as it is closely based on the book Guevara wrote from his own diaries detailing the pilgrimage. Essentially, we see the story of Dr. Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s life unfold in front of us. He evolves from the privileged young doctor (Elitist) to the savior of an enslaved nation (Revolutionary). We see for the first time what made Che turn his back on a dream life in Argentina, in exchange for a life of poverty in the jungles of Cuba. The compassion Guevara shows in this film echoed on the battlefields in the Cuban Revolution- where documented CIA reports would show Che often gave medical attention to wounded enemies. That’s right Glenn Beck, the man you claim tortured enemies in war actually dressed enemies wounds and gave them water from his own canteen. But I digress…
The film itself won a number of notable awards and though it is subtitled, it is well worth whatever addition mental exertion it puts on you. But as with all subtitled films, make sure to watch it in the proper setting.