#7. “The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004)
“The Motorcycle Diaries” is the film adaptation of Ernesto “Fuser” (Better known as Che) Guevara’s journals that recount his amazing motorcycle South America road trip right before college graduation.
Beginning in Buenos Aires, Che and his buddy Alberto Granado spend months making their way up the continent on their beloved but beat-up moto, “The Mighty One.”
It’s a great tale of friendship and Latin America, brilliantly displaying Che’s budding disillusionment with capitalism. While actor and major dreamboat Gael García Bernal did a great job depicting Che, it was his partner-in-crime played by Rodrigo de la Serna that stole the show for me.
This film made me want to explore South America immediately. While I’ve now really only seen the eastern part of Argentina, in order to trace their track I must go over the Andes and along the coastline of Chile, through Peru and into Venezuela. Che and Alberto’s route took them 5,000 miles. Imagine that journey today, even with modern motorcycles and mobile phone coverage. Che was a travel revolutionary.
Buenos Aires: Where Che started his motorcycle diary.
Totally agree, this movie makes me want to put all my other travel plans on hold and fork out the airfare for South America… wish they had had more time in Buenos Aires though, cause I think that will be my favourite.