Motorcycle diaries

During the course of the film ‘ Motorcycle Diaries’, the two protagonists Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado learn much about the world around them over the course of their travel. Many of the events experienced by the two protagonists have a significant effect on their opinions on the world and their maturity. At the start of the movie, you will expect the journey they will undertake is relaxed and puerile, but over the course of the film, we find out that the journey is all about the interpretation of the new, not following the plan.

At the start of the movie, when it is introducing the two main protagonists of the film, it briefly talks about their ambitious journey. It tells us the ‘ method’ of the journey is improvisation. This shows us that they are not fully prepared for a smooth trip, but rather a trip that that will face certain challenges to experience more about what is around them, and to explore ‘ the continent that they had only known in books’. The scene of Alberto packing for the journey and the scene transitioning with credits and voiceover is used to represent the ambitious and mysterious journey they will undergo, and that journeys are about interpretation of the new, which will be the challenges they face and the experience they get from the travel.

The first time that Ernesto and Alberto had contemplation about the injustice in the world is when they meet the mining couple. The scene of the two protagonists and the couple surrounding the fire is very profound and emotional. It is portrayed through the flickering of the fire at night. This sets the mood for the dialogue and highlights the tragic faces of the couple. The dialogue between them is what really shocked each other. One side is two young men that has never experienced their life in danger, and have never been forced to move. The other side is a couple from a different country, and different party.

When Ernesto and Alberto knew about the painful stories of the couple, they were stunned. Ernesto doesn’t know what to say but can only give the couple his jacket as help. He also secretly gives the couple 15 US dollars that he strongly refuses to spend because of deep sympathy. The use of the techniques above and the long shot of the four surrounding the fire at night depict the how cold, harsh and merciless the night is, but it also shows humanity expressed in the scene, and how a little help from someone could mean everything for the one being helped. This further confirms that journeys are about the interpretation of the new; which in this case, a different side of the world that they have never heard of or experienced.

In their adventures throughout South America, Ernesto and Alberto experience not only new people and situations, but also new environments and a whole new domain. This is portrayed through the use of long shots. A prime example of this is in the scene where the two men are travelling by boat towards the South Island that is inhabited by leprosy patients. The long shot shows the two in a boat, travelling across the vast expanse of the river. This depicts how out of place they are and how incredibly different their surroundings are to what they accustomed to. Thus, the effect of this is the affirmation that journeys are about interpretation of the new; in this case, the ‘ new’ happens to be new places. Furthermore, the river is also a metaphor for a barrier that separates the poor and powerless from the safe and healthy, and just as in the bigger picture, the poor and the rich people of South America.

Over the course of the film Motorcycle Diaries, it has captured the breathtaking scenes of a marvelous journey with Ernesto and Alberto. Through many touching and dramatic scenes, the especially portrays the concept of journey is the interpretation of the new. The film has also depicted several types of journey, not just the physical journey, but also the inner, mental and emotional journey of the two protagonists.