The 2004 film, The Motorcycle Diaries, is based on the memoirs of Ernesto "Che" Guevara of the same title. It follows Che along with his friend Alberto Granada as the travel across South America in search of adventure. Ultimately, the journey transforms Guevara and he finds his calling to help the impoverished peoples of Latin America.
Watching this film is a fantastic way to learn about the beginnings of one of the most famous revolutionaries in the world as well as see stunningly beautiful footage from all over Latin America. It is hard not to be moved watching Guevera swim across the Amazon to celebrate his birthday with the excluded leprosy patients on the other side or give his last $15 to a couple forced into migrancy because of their communist beliefs. Nor, is it hard to fall in love with the beauty of South America when you are watching it sail by you from the back of a motorcycle.
The Motorcycle Diaries is available at the Fogelson Library right now. You can check it out any time!
Official trailer for The Motorcycle Diaries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u0U3dbVMHk
An article about Che from Time Magazine's 100 Most Important People of the Century list:
http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/guevara01.html
Che's collective works:
http://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/index.htm
IMDB pages for the two new movies about Che staring Benicio Del Toro to come out later this year: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892255/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374569/
