The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

I hope those of you who were not previously subscribers are enjoying the now free Film4 (I know Rache is).  The main problem from my point of view, apart from the numerous ad breaks (they had said these would be about every 45 minutes, but in fact they are averaging 20-25 minutes) is that they are mainly showing the same films to their new audience that they previously showed to their subscribers, so at present there is little to tempt me.  The above film was one of their few new offerings and I am happy to have seen it, although it really needs to be filed under W for worthy.  The story of the young Che Guevara and his older friend, Alberto Granado, on their extended trip through South America, illustrates how their experiences shaped their futures, how they ended the trip as different men.  Of course the motorcycle in question gave up the ghost before they were halfway through their journey, and we are shown how they managed to scrape through to reach their goal of  volunteering at a leper colony (a very moving interlude).  Gael Garcia Bernal is excellent as always as Che, but it is Rodrigo de la Serna as his friend who puts the heart and life into the film.  Beautifully filmed and directed, I can't honestly say that I would want to view it a second time, but this first sight was certainly worthwhile.