The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
89%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
36 wins & 49 nominations total
The Motorcycle Diaries is heartfelt and profound in its rendering of the formative experiences that turn Ernesto “Che” Guerva into a famous revolutionary
The Motorcycle Diaries is a movie that takes you on a journey through South America with two young men who are trying to find themselves. It’s a coming-of-age story that’s full of adventure, idealism, and breathtaking scenery. While some critics found the episodic structure to be a bit of a hindrance, I found it to be a fun and exciting way to experience the story. The performances were strong, and the movie had a huge heart that left me feeling inspired and thoughtful. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good road trip movie or a story about personal growth and discovery.
Production Company(ies)
Ciné-tamaris Social Animals Rouge International,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lago Frias, Argentina
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
2004
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 6m
-
Language(s):Spanish, Quechua, Mapudungun
-
Country of origin:United Kingdom
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 15, 2005
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mercedes Morán, Mia Maestro, Jorge Chiarella, Jean Pierre Noher, directed by Walter Salles, written by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Jose Rivera, biography, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Marc Savlov, Roger Moore, Rene Rodriguez, Tom Long, Terry Lawson, Rosa Parra, Steve Erickson, Charles Cassady, Joe Lozito, Amber Wilkinson, Peter T Chattaway, produced by Daniel Burman, Michael Nozik, Karen Tenkhoff, Edgard Tenenbaum, MPAA rating R, South America, motorcycle trip, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Alberto Granado, poor peasants, exploitation of labor, leper colony, capitalism, colonialism, revolution, coming of age, consciousness, socialism, communism, Gael Garcia Bernal’s performance, Rodrigo de la Serna’s performance, unbiased, humanism, picturesque, episodic structure, Walter Salles
Worldwide gross: $57,663,711
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $90,963,721
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,065
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,919,708
US/Canada gross: $16,781,387
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $26,472,410
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,311
US/Canada opening weekend: $159,819
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $252,112
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,589
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Rodrigo de la Serna – Alberto Granado
Mercedes Morán – Celia de la Serna
Mia Maestro – Chichina Ferreyra
Jorge Chiarella – Dr. Bresciani
Jean Pierre Noher – Ernesto Guevara Lynch
Director(s)
Walter Salles
Writer(s)
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Jose Rivera
Producer(s)
Daniel Burman, Michael Nozik, Karen Tenkhoff, Edgard Tenenbaum
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
36 wins & 49 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Song Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (158) | Top Critics (46) | Fresh (131) | Rotten (27)
Walter Salles’s well-observed movie downplays politics for humanism. It’s a picturesque tale that, hobbled by its episodic structure, never achieves full steam.
March 13, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
October 20, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A marvelous road picture and boys-become-men adventure, full of the best kind of idealism.
October 15, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
A dull, unsatisfying experience — as well as inconclusive.
October 8, 2004 | Rating: 2/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Well-acted, beautifully shot and broad and personal, The Motorcycle Diaries is nonetheless undermined in the end by a clunky search for meaning and depth that seems forced.
October 8, 2004 | Rating: B-
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Quietly exhilarating, soulful and sincerely romantic.
October 8, 2004 | Rating: 4/4
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
A breathtaking road trip movie across South America. A coming of age & consciousness story carried by a strong performance from Bernal.
August 15, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Rosa Parra
Latinx Lens
This is radical chic without the radicalism, seemingly geared toward people who find Guevara vaguely admirable but would be turned off by talk of class struggle and revolution.
March 6, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Subtly political biopic won’t interest most teens.
December 15, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Charles Cassady
Common Sense Media
December 27, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Has a huge heart.
December 7, 2007 | Rating: 5/5
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
A thought-provoking film, grounded in breathtaking scenery and engaging performances.
September 27, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today…
Plot
In 1952, twenty-three year old medical student Ernesto Guevara de la Serna – Fuser to his friends and later better known as ‘Ernesto Che Guevara’ – one semester away from graduation, decides to postpone his last semester to accompany his twenty-nine year old biochemist friend ‘Alberto Granado’ – Mial to his friends – on his four month, 8,000 km long dream motorcycle trip throughout South America starting from their home in Buenos Aires. Their quest is to see things they’ve only read about in books about the continent on which they live, and to finish that quest on Alberto’s thirtieth birthday on the other side of the continent in the Guajira Peninsula in Venezuela. Not all on this trip goes according to their rough plan due to a broken down motorbike, a continual lack of money (they often stretching the truth to gain the favor of a variety of strangers to help them), arguments between the two in their frequent isolation solely with each other, their raging libidos which sometimes get them into trouble, and dealing with Fuser’s chronic asthma. But a chance encounter with a couple of Communists in the Chilean desert and an extended visit to the San Pablo Leper Colony in the Perúvian Amazon Basin among other things profoundly affects what each will want to do with his life and the bond each has with the other.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Gael García Bernal stars as Ernesto “Che” Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries.
Walter-Salles.jpg
