The Motorcycle Diaries (R)
Subtly political biopic won't interest most teens.
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- Studio: Focus Features, Focus Features
- Directed By: Walter Salles
- Cast: Gael García Bernal
- Running Time: 128 minutes
- Release Date: 09/24/2004
- Video/DVD Release Date: 02/15/2005
- Genre: Drama
- MPAA Rating: R
- MPAA Explanation: language
Parents need to know
Families can talk about Ernesto's values and idealism, and the adage "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter."
Message
Social Behavior:
Consumerism:
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Social drinking, one supporting character gets drunk.
Violence
None, except for a near-brawl, avoided by the fleeing heroes.
Sex
Nothing really shown, but much-discussed (including a heavily-coded negotiation with a prostitute).
Language
Some very raw language.
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Charles Cassady, Jr.
Is it any good?
This is a very subtle, realistic film (Marxism and the United States are barely mentioned at all) compared to the hysterical propaganda pieces that came out of the former USSR, or even the USA. Indeed, if these were two fictional characters you'd think it was just a well-acted, rather shapeless road-movie about friendship and Latin America in the 1950s. We doubt impressionable youth will convert to Castroism solely by watching, without additional reinforcement, although the moviemakers certainly find Ernesto deeply admirable from the get-go. Unlike Alberto, Ernesto tells the truth even when it hurts, and shows innate compassion for the downtrodden. And who could argue with that? (Many Americans regard Che and his comrades as terrorists and critics of the movie have compared the Communists to the Nazis)
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Parents and kids say
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