The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

It occurred to me last night how amazing freedom of speech really is. For all the obscene adjectives that could be used to describe America, one has to give credit for the powerful and essential rights which all people are inalienably allotted.

I watched The Motorcycle Diaries (Trailer) in the kind company of Brit and Mike at the Pacific Grove in Santa Monica, CA. The movie, whether you are familiar or not, is based on the true story of Che Guevara, the leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s. The movie is a documentary-like recount of their life changing journey. It is simply fantastic and inspirational. Walter Salles (Director) does a wonderful job of capturing the surreal beauty of South America. As the movie explains…

This isn’t a tale of heroic feats. It’s about two lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams. The plan: 5,000 miles in four months. The goal: to explore a continent they had only known in books. The method: improvisation. The further they went, the more they could feel the world changing… or maybe, it was them.

I don’t think I could say much more except the movie is beautiful and I highly recommend it. As far as the freedom of speech introduction goes, I realized that I was watching this “Communist” movie in the heart of Los Angeles, one of the most populous and “American” cities of the United States. As the credits rolled, the movie’s epilogue explained how Che was captured and killed with the support of the CIA. And it occurred to me that not many countries in the world allow you, let alone not kill you, for such a loaded comment.

Adieu. Navid.