The Motorcycle Diaries (Spanish title: Diarios de motocicleta) is a biographical film about how young Ernesto "Che" Guevara (who later gained fame as a Marxist revolutionary) and his friend Alberto Granado travel across South America. The Spanish language movie stars Gael García Bernal as Ernesto Guevara and Rodrigo de la Serna (the real-life Guevara's second cousin) as Alberto Granado.

The film was directed by Walter Salles, and opened worldwide in 2004. The screenplay, written by acclaimed Puerto Rican playwright José Rivera, is based on Guevara's and Granado's journals.

The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for four awards at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; the only one it didn't win was the Golden Palm (Palme D'Or). It was also nominated for two Oscar Awards in 2005 – Best Original Song and Best Adapted Script. It won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Al otro lado del río", written and performed by Jorge Drexler.

Tagline: Let the world change you and you can change the world.

Story overview

Shortly before Ernesto is due to complete his medical degree, he and his older friend Alberto leave Buenos Aires in order to travel through the continent seeking fun and adventures, and to finally reach Venezuela. Their transport is Alberto's ancient, leaky Norton motorcycle, La Poderosa ("The Mighty One").

During the travel they come across poverty and suffering, for example while volunteering at a leper colony in the north of Peru, or while meeting a couple along their way who had had their land taken away from them by the new large land owners. These experiences with injustice change the way Guevara sees the world, obviously portraying the motivations behind his later political actions.

In a journey that lasts more than a year, the partners travel over 12,000 kilometres, from Argentina through Chile, Peru, and Colombia to Venezuela.

External links

• Official site
• The Cult of Che - Don't applaud The Motorcycle Diaries