I admit it. I am biased. Almost thirty years ago I spent several years working in South America, a quarter century after Ché blew through those same places. This movie gets so many of the small things about the cultures perfectly correct that it comes as no surprise that non-actors were used in these scenes. It is as if you are making the road trip too and that is, indeed, the strength of this movie. The quiet comraderie of the two principles is inviting. Their journey is quixotic, amusing, romantic and not a little foolhardy, but you'd die to be doing it, too! Critics have claimed that by failing to tackle the reality of Ché's future the film does a disservice to the realities of his past. I would say that the film shows the blank slate of youth filling with experiential awareness and hinting at how those experiences might mix with the character's inherent tendencies. The future is not yet known, but the possibilities are being outlined. I think that it is done very, very well.… Expand

Combine beautiful photography and powerful, natural acting with terrific writing, and you have Motorcycle Diaries. For those who criticize the movie as creating a false portrait of a man who would later advocate violent revolution, have they so little imagination that they are unable to comprehend how a young person who goes off to discover the world could legitimately grow from a sheltered son of privilege into a revolutionary, given the conditions of the world? One's politics are generally formed by your life experiences, and for most U.S. citizens, their experience is standardized television/mall living, with few ever traveling out of their racial ghetto, much less out of the U.S. Whatever else a viewer might get from the film, would that it might be an interest in making his or her own journey of discovery--to places that no one in the family has ever visited. Go for six months. See if you, like Ernesto/Che aren't changed. Things don't happen for no reason at all, my fellow citizens.… Expand

(Sorry if my english is bad). It is simply the best movie I've ever seen, i always admired "Che" Guevara because of his intelligence and his principles, his vision, the way that he matured, until becoming the most unselfish being in the world, and I think this movie reflects all that, and it does in a way that only non-commercial director's and these kind of actors (famous in south america) can.… Expand

Possibly Gael Garcia's best performance till date. The film is seamless and very heartening at times. Also to be praised is Gustavo Santaolalla's impeccable compositions for the move.

Stunning visual style and reminiscient of Jack Kerouac on the road. Those who rate this film poorly are probably just critics of el Che, and their opinions of the man and legend is reflected in the scores, rather than the content of the film itself.

The moie is so touching an realistic.....the way they have shown an innocent boy become a revolutionary is sooo well directed......an excellent movie.

Just a correct road movie, with beautiful photography and good acting. Unfortunately it lacks a litle bit more depth. Guevara's moral coming of age is determined by too few episodes. "How much unjustice", he claims when he's about to return to Argentina. And anyone who knows South America, and anyone who has read his diaries, knows he met quite a lot more reasons to become conscious about what was/is happening in the continent. Anyway. I would like to make just one coment to a couple of the site users : I don't know what you are taught in your History classes in the USA, but to consider Che Guevara a mass murderer reveals either an absolute abscence of knowledge on the subject, or an absolute abscence of knowledge of the english language.… Expand

Fantastic! Mr. Selles directed this amazig movie with wondeful breaktrough performances and an excellent cinematography! Bravo Gael Garcia Bernal!

Wonderfully shot. Great acting by Bernal and De la Serna.

This is a wonderfully sensitive and politically nuanced movie I've seen for a long time. Reviewers who question the polemics of the piece miss the point - it is NOT about the color of the revolution, it IS about the world education of a young man, who comes to terms with himself and his relationship with the world. Gael Bernal Garcia gave a Oscar-worthy performance, and this movie won't be so quickly forgotten. Thank you, Walter Salles.… Collapse

A nice characterological snapshot of a budding youthful idealist and his friend. As with any snapshot, incomplete and perhaps romanticized. But enjoyable to look at, and moving in parts. Not a masterpiece but leaves me wanting to learn a little more about South America, its history, its beauty, and the dark times associated with Che Guevera and his era.

A completely boring and ponderous film that frankly, ranks among the worst of the year!

Incredibly bland, dull and lifeless film that is overlong and extremely shallow. The director is very overrated.

This is an enojoyable film, but not one of great depth. The lead performers are not engaging, nor is the writing or direction. It is perhaps the subject matter and the exquisite vistas that kept me engrossed at all. It is worth renting though not worth getting excited about.

This movie is a gem and must be seen by all! If this movie does not win an oscar, it will be a travesty. Thank you Robert Redford for being a part of such projects! You are a true hero. Bravo Garcia Bernal for your choice of roles. You are now officially an International Superstar!

Che Guevara was already a good man when he made his trek across South America. Through no fault of his own, he lacks the character arc of a Malcolm X, who was a criminal before he was a revolutionary. There's no drama when Guevara decides what his fate will be, because helping people was already in the cards. Still, without any serious mounting of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road", "The Motorcycle Diaries" works as a travelogue, and Gael Garcia Bernal is more believable at playing an icon during his formative years, than Chris O'Donnell's did as a young Ernest Hemmingway in "In Love and War".… Expand

Pretention of a high-order, this film is vacuous and stilted, with a bad performance at its center.

Absolutley breathtaking view of South America. The acting is absolutely first class and just superb. You can see and feel the pain in the eyes of the people in that region. It is not difficult to understand where the seeds of revolution are born? Sometimes in life we have very little choice and are destined to become the men we truly are. This is an outstanding piece of cinema magic.

My girlfriend dragged me to this, but it turned out to be way better than I thought it was gonna be. Funny in parts, thought-provoking in others.

Beautiful, enjoyable,, thought-provoking. Even better if you've actually READ the memoir. There's a person in all history, always is, and whatever you end up thinking about it all in the end, the movie makes you grapple with the complexity that recognizing other people's humanity fully always brings. Excellent movie.

Amazing, for those that where personally later involved on either side of the Cold War, As a young idealist. Only the years of living and caring for humanity do we begin to understand this great insperational Leader and the notion this Great Rebel had. In time one comes to understand that the fight for injustice is all to often on bothsides and only the winner will have the time to then try to clarify his actions as the just and right ones. This movie has helped me see our one time enemy in a different light (Communism) and come to remember we believed in the same basic ideal. But the World, governments, and politician have a way of brainwashing our mind and misguiding our passions in the name of patriotism. I Loved this Film and have come to admire the man that aided in the creation of and equal share government, even thought I once pledge my service to combat it in Central America. … Expand

As i watched the movie and saw my family in it, the Ferreyrs's and my aunt Chichina i disagreed on how they were protrayed, however, the rest of the movie describes exactly how CHichina (my aunt) remmebred el "Che" and how importatn he was to her. The actors do an amazing job in the movie and many of you will not know and do not know, or hhave never known what el "che" is and was all about. Dont rate the movie because of its landscapes and acting, rate it for its emotinal content and its serious significance behind the journey of transformation. … Expand

One of the most ponderous films to come down the road in a long time, from one of the most overestimated foreign directors. Little happens, Bernal sleepwalks through his role, and the film is way too long!

This movie is great, with a great director and actors, and a sad but lovely history...go watch it.

If you've seen the trailer of this static, episodic, and totally uninvolving film, you would have had all you need to have. Bernal underplays his role and there is no depth or insight. A very overated film from an overated director. There were some critics who did pan the film, and I expressed agreement completely. This is a pretty-to-look-at travelogue and nothing more.

Do the users who give this film a "10" have any criteria to judge this film on this level. It was dull, pointless, all eye-candy and little depth. If this pretension deserves a "10" what is there really left to acknowledge quality in other films?

The Motorcycle Diaries 4/5 Two twenty-something men from Arentina, one a biochemist, the other a medical student close to graduation, set fourth one a cross-continent journey of South America aboard a 1939 motorcycle. Along the way, their eyes are opened to the changing landscape and particularly to the people they encounter, many of whom are poor and in dire circumstances. These encounters end up shaping their perspectives and changing their lives forever. Ernesto Guevara is the 23 year-old student. He is awkward around women, honest to a fault, but is obviously a person of principle in the making. Alberto Granado is the biochemist and is much more at ease with himself. He fits in easily with the locals wherever they stop to stay with them. He dances well and totally throws himself into the moment to enjoy the good times with the people they meet. Ernesto, by contrast, is more of contemplative person and has firmer convictions. For example, he refuses to spend the $15 US a girlfriend has given him to buy her a bathing suit in the US, even though he and Alberto are usually starving and in need of shelter. He ends up giving the money away, much to the displeasure of Alberto. Along the way, there is much swearing in this sub-titled film, as we see the duo wipe out on the motorcycle several times, encounter snow-filled roads in Chilie that force them to walk the motorcycle and generally argue over how to con or not to con people for food and shelter. The film culminates with the pair arriving to volunteer at a leper colony. On one side of the river is the colony, and on the other side, the medical staff have their facilities and homes. Upon their first visit to the colony, the pair refuse to wear gloves, which is a strict rule, although the gloves are pointless since leprosy is not communicable. Soon, they are embraced by everyone, lepers and medical staff alike. They treat the patients like people, not like pariahs, and end up becoming totally accepted. In one scene, the nuns are serving everyone lunch except our heroes. When they enquire, they are told that only those who attend mass are allowed to be fed. Dejected, they leave the mess hall but find their patients approaching them with food behind the nuns backs. On Ernesto's 24'th birthday, a party is held by the medical staff,on their half of the colony. Ernesto gives a heartfelt speech in which he praises the people for their generosity and makes mention about how South America should be united since they are all the same people. This is supposed to foretell his later exploits as the revoutionary Che Guevara. After making the speech, he wanders to the edge of the river with Alberto, takes off his shirt and then attempts to swim across to be with his beloved patients. This film is refreshingly original. The acting all around is excellent.You never get a sense of being suckered in by the typical shallow hooks that too many Hollywood films utilize. There are no outrageous camera angles, CGI or anything else that leser films require to keep you interested. The Motorcycle Diaires is a film about a journey that results in our protaganists opening their eyes and hearts to the humanity around them on the great South American continent. At times, it will put a smile on your face, but it will also make you think of others apart from yourself without the feeling that you are being preached to. Self-discovery and the road to it, has rarely been filmed so well in recent memory. See this film!… Expand

A ludicrously rosy portrait of a future mass murderer. "Motorcycle Diaries" is as little in touch with reality as Che's blinkered devotees.