has this not been discussed here yet? we finally got around to watching it this weekend. our expectations were high–partly based on the recommendations of others, but mostly on just how much we’d both liked central station. however, i found the motorcycle diaries to be curiously uninvolving. perhaps it is a built-in problem with any biopic of an iconic figure, especially of the “early life of” sub-genre that the film’s present can’t help but serve as background material for the spectacular myth–providing a series of aha! moments: “so, that’s when he began to think about oppression” etc.. it is also a problem if the “early life of” doesn’t complicate the myth: it turns out che was always a noble sort. without this narrative tension what you have is a lovely travel advertisement for the andes. and maybe that advertisement looks so much better on the big screen that these other issues pale–i don’t know. central station was also visually stunning, but went over similar political ground far more dialectically (oooh!) and movingly.
but i sense disagreement in the ranks (and i don’t know yet what sunhee thought of it–i’ll try to get her to post).