The Motorcycle Diaries

In 1952, two young men set out on a motorcycle to discover South America. They are medical student Ernesto Guevara de la Serna and biochemist Alberto Granado, played by Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna. A duo reminiscent of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza: Ernesto thin, serious, and asthmatic; Alberto round, cheerful, and optimistic. Over eight months of travel through winter and summer, across various countries, they will encounter the greatest contrasts. They will party, dance, and fall in love. They will meet destitute miners, oppressed Indigenous people, and leprosy patients forced to live hidden and isolated.

The young men are on an adventure, but also on a journey of self-discovery that culminates in political awakening. The film reveals some of the background of the man who would become the icon of all rebels: Che Guevara. It is impossible to watch it without reflecting on Che’s fate, while at the same time it is a film about the joys and challenges of traveling. There are breathtaking and untamed landscapes, as well as constant encounters with new people. It is a film of great gravity, yet told with warmth and humor. Just thinking of individual scenes makes me want to watch it again – and I have already seen it at least three times.

Tove Nilsen (Archive Films from the South, 2005)

Free Outdoor Cinema

Films from the South and Deichman Bjørvika invite you to a free outdoor screening of Walter Salles’ classic THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES on Wednesday, NOV 12 at 18:00, outside Deichman Bjørvika.

Retrospective: Walter Salles

This film is part of a retrospective focusing on Brasil's great filmmaker, Walter Salles.