esrosedotblog

FORMATION

Today's film was

Diarios de motocicleta / The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

This is a road picture, a travelogue, a people-logue. A buddy picture.

It is a light handed sketch of the radicalization of Ché Guevera at 24.

The picture begins as two bourgeois young men—best friends—take a journey through three countries and see a world which had been unimagined.

Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo De la Serna.

We learn some basic characteristics about Ché. He is honest to a fault. He is observant. He empathizes with people.

He sees himself in others and others in him. That is empathy doubled.

He is persistent.

The scenes are short. The longest period spent is at a leper colony and the experience is transforming for all including the viewer.

I am sure that a majority of the people encountered are 'real' and not talent.

There are wonderful (freeze frame but live) black and white portraits of the people encountered in their situations.

It is a feast.

And for dessert, at the titles, we get photos of the real trip of the real people. Thrilling.

It is hard not to feel the weight of what we know about Ché from the very beginning but they help us throw that off and get into the trip itself.

At the end, we are briefly reminded of the history. The weight returns.

This is a high 5 out of Netflix5.

I read that it is even better if you understand spanish! But that is often the case with subtitled pictures. Half a lof is better however.

Labels: best films