Motorcycle Diaries

I had my first Creative Writing class last Tuesday. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. Our first assignment was to write something about any book, or movie, or anything thing, that we might have seen, or read. It could be anything you saw or read last month, or even when you were eight. We were given 20 minutes to do this. Talk about pressure! After much deliberation, I decided to write about "The Motorcycle Diaries".

------------
The Motorcycle Diaries, 2004

I love motorcycles. Back home in India, we have plenty of mopeds. The first "real" motorcycle that I rode was a 350cc monster [Note] dry weight 358 lbs (163 Kg). The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R weighs 355 lbs [End Note], called the Enfield Bullet, when I snuck a ride from a friend, when I was in my grade 10 (at 15). We switched seats before I got home, because I knew my mother was waiting. She felt my heart pounding, and suspected that I had ridden it. My grandfather had to reassure her that even sitting on the backseat of one would do that to you!

When I heard about "The Motorcycle Diaries", the story of a young man's journey through South America, I knew I had to see it. That the person in question was Che Guevara was an added bonus.

It was thrilling to watch a young Che and his buddy, pack up on their old monster, and head out into the countryside - it made my heart pound. Perhaps my wanting to take some time off and do a roadtrip, had something to do with it. It made me wince when they had their spills, and reminded me nostalgically of my own.

When their bike was totalled, and they had to continue by other means, and it became apparent that it was not going to be on another motorcycle, I almost felt disappointed. Notice I said almost.

Here is where the director tugs at your heart strings, and keeps a firm grip on them. As Che's journey continues, you experience his epiphany, and even as the cinematography remains magnificent, the vision changes dramatically.

You can feel the inner turmoils of a young man from a successful family, his career planned out, as he ponders life, and his role in it.

The climax of the movie is when an asthmatic Che swims across the freezing river, the air sucked out of his lungs, struggling to join the segregated lepers on their colony, on the eve of his journey forward from there.

You many not know much about Che the Guerilla, and his actions, but you leave understanding a young man's growing up, his transformation, his metamorphosis. This movie is like the beautiful butterfly that emerges. It takes your breath away.