Diary Notes: Walter Salles's The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

 THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

by 

Walter Salles

Post the opening card that reads "This isn't a tale about heroic feats. It's about two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams.". The film, "The Motorcycle Diaries" starts off with an exciting opening montage, two friends: one a medical student who is in his last semester, Ernesto "Fuser" Guevara aged 23,  and the other a biochemist, Alberto Granado aged 29, from Buenos Aires, narrate the plan of their road trip traversing the western border of Latin America within 4 months on Granado's old Norton 500, which is in a very questionable state and is definitely unfit to endure their trip of 14,000 km which also comprises of The Andes. But they don't seem to care and we don't care either. The eagerness before the journey is very palpable and infectious and you feel as excited as Ernesto and Granado about the possibilities of their wild venture while they travel into the heart of Latin America tracing the roots of their society, into the indigenous world from "progressive world". It is a terrific premise for this "road trip buddy" film, and the background score ('Apertura') just sets the mood right.  But what sets "The Motorcycle Diaries" part more than the well-realised performances, enchanting score and the exotic cinematography is its ability makes us think and its power to change us. It does a good job in making us wonder and care about things the character care about & feel and ultimately when it ends, there is this overwhelming sense of nostalgia and a sense of belonging (to your respective nativity and roots). It is a film that refuses to let you go, like your best friend.

After the prologue that is set in the "city" of Buenos Aires of 1952, the film shifts into dusty terrains, there is this tracking shot of Ernesto & Granado traveling from the crowded city roads into the dirt roads, a shot, and a reverse shot (not exactly, but in the direction). This is not a story about heroics, Ernesto narrates in the prologue, and rightly so, it is actually a story of how things were set in motion in his mind that ultimately changed this young man. Even though they make a very elaborate plan (for 9 years as Granado explains), things inevitably do not go as imagined and we understand that right away. They fall behind schedule and find themselves in situations they haven't thought of and the journey gets more demanding, both physically and mentally. There are moments of fear and doubt, there are moments of letting things go and there are also moments of self-realisation, triumph, satisfaction, and of course, thought revolution. At one stage they have to let their beloved motorcycle go which means they have to travel on foot. And another stage, love. And they're often broke & run out of food. At every step there is a tough call to make in order to continue the journey, even though we know that they aren't going to stop for any reason, it is the magnitude of the things they have to let go of and endure that makes us empathise and keeps us on the journey. There is a lot of conflict at every step, to a point where the journey almost feels exhausting. But it is the people Ernesto and Granado come across, who act as a catalyst for Ernesto's thought revolution. People who have been enduring what these two are going through and much much more. In one of the strongest moments in the film, a Marxist couple fleeing their home in order to escape prison and in search of an employer who does not care about their political views come across Ernesto & Granado and they ask the reason behind their journey. When Ernesto replies "Just for the sake of traveling", they're are astounded by it. "May God bless you travelers", the woman says when she is forced to confront the fact of how contrasting their worlds are, what is an absolute necessity for them is a thrill for the other. And so it begins, a realisation of disparity which gets stronger and stronger as the journey continues and gets more indigenous. While Granado's reaction is like any ordinary person, Ernesto is moved and lost in thought wondering how unjust the lives of these people are, for someone who had to start the journey with a great personal sacrifice, everything feels inconsequential and small in front of the problems the people he meets are going through. Things start to change inside him, there is a calling that is getting louder and louder throughout the film. Which he acknowledges at the end by saying how his journey across America has changed him, how he is "not the same" anymore. And I think that is what the epilogue of the film is all about, his insuppressible thoughts.

Then there is the score which for the most part just disappears into the visuals and makes the moments more vivid and visceral, be it the excitement before the start of the journey or the moments of growing empathy & a sense of belonging (especially the ending), it complements the moments well. There is a lot of handheld camera movement, which allows it to feel grounded and makes us more of their comrades in the journey across exotic Latin America that is shot mostly under gorgeous natural light for the most part. The cinematography is one of the film's strongest assets, from the tracking shots of Ernesto & Granado on their bikes to the beautiful landscapes or the portraits of the native people, every frame feels nostalgic. The same is true with the editing as well, particularly, in the opening montage the stylised abrupt cuts and the camera movement give the beginning the enthusiasm and momentum but as the film progresses the cuts are long and give time to experience the metamorphosis of Ernesto or to allow us to stand in his shoes. 

Having said all that, I don't say "The Motorcycle Diaries" is a perfect film. The momentum it begins with wears off somewhere in the middle, and the film might feel like a drag for a little bit. There are some really great moments that follow which are emotionally very strong and but were not as coherent as I would like them to be. The film is not political propaganda, all its left extremism and anti-capitalist ideology aside, it is a very humane attempt to explore the roots of these very ideologies in the mind of one of the most radicle, eloquent and iconic practitioner of communism. And it is a successful one too because it is hard to disagree how the world changed this man into what eventually became even though you may not necessarily agree with what he eventually changed into.