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Motorcycle Diaries
Motorcycle Diaries
(2004)
Prologue:
This isnt a tale of heroic feats. Its about two lives, running parallel for a
while, with common aspirations and similar dreams. Ernesto Guevara de
la Serna (1952)
That is when Alberto discovers that Ernesto is taking a puppy for Chichina,
his girlfriend.
Chichina and Ernesto talk about whether she will wait for him.
She says, finally, I will wait for you, but dont take forever.
Ernesto and Alberto stay six days.
A mechanic says he will fix their motorcycle, after being shown the article in
the Austral News.
As they are about to see the town, guided by Jazmn and Daniela, a man
(Moncho) approaches Ernesto and begs him to look at an old woman (his
mother?).
He gives her some pills and instructions.
But he knows she will die soon.
Ernesto writes: Their faces were tragic and haunted. They told us of
comrades who had mysteriously disappeared and were said to be
somewhere at the bottom of the sea. It was one of the coldest nights of my
life, but also one which made me feel closer to this strange, for me anyway,
human race.
Ernesto talks with an indigenous peasant who has been fired and thrown off
the land where he was working.
The land was productive, but the landlord threw the peasants off.
He says, I cant live in the past. I have to move on, work, find the money
to educate my kids. He says that the peasants are organized.
MOTORCYCLE DIARIES 6
Alberto thanks a young woman, Luz, for her help during Ernestos attack.
She is a prostitute.
Alberto begs Ernesto for the $15 from Chichina so that he can have Luz.
But Ernesto has given it to the couple at the mine.
Bresciani tries to persuade Ernesto and Alberto to wear gloves when they are
with patients.
They decline to do so.
The patients appreciate it.
But the mother superior, Sor Alberto, is incensed that they dont follow
the rules.
A patient, Silvia, does not want the surgery that would save her arm.
Ernesto approaches her.
They talk about how hard life is.
He begins breathing hard.
She asks him what is wrong.
He says he was born with bad lungs.
Silvia doesnt like living.
Ernesto: You gotta fight for every breath, and tell death to go to hell.
During a soccer game with patients and staff, Ernesto plays for the patients
side.
At the Sunday meal, Sor Alberto refuses to feed Ernesto and Alberto because
they didnt attend mass.
Patients bring them food.
Ernesto wants to celebrate his birthday on the other side of the Amazon with
the patients.
But the boat is on the other side.
Ernesto dives in.
Alberto warns him that no one can do it and that he will be eaten by the
animals living in the river.
No one has ever successfully swum the river at that place.
People gather on the banks to watch.
In the morning, in heavy fog, Ernesto is warmly sent off by patients and staff.
Ernesto tells Alberto that something has happened to him on the trip.
He noticed the injustice in the world and the kindness of others.
Ernesto recites a closing soliloquy, which repeats the movies opening lines:
This isnt a tale of heroic feats. Its about two lives running parallel for a
while, with common aspirations and similar dreams. Was our dream too
narrow, too biased, too hasty? Were our conclusions too rigid? Maybe.
Wandering around our America has changed me more than I thought. I
am not me anymore. At least Im not the me I was.
Postscript:
It took eight years for Ernesto and Alberto to meet again.
In 1960 Granada was invited to live and work in Cuba.
The invitation came from his old friend Fuser, now Comandante Ernesto
Che Guevara, one of the most prominent and inspiring leaders of the
Cuban Revolution.
Che went on to fight for his ideals in the Congo and Bolivia, where he was
captured, and with the support of the CIA, murdered in October, 1967.
MOTORCYCLE DIARIES 9