THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Walter Salles - Argentina/Chile/France/Germany/UK/USA 2004).
From the director who unleashed the Oscar-nominated CENTRAL DO BRASIL (1998) on the world and is now torturing audiences around the world with Paris JE T'AIME (a joint-project with some other world-weary humanist directors), a film unlikely to increase Paris' appeal. The film seems conveniently marketed for the anti-globalist soul-searching urbanites in Europe. It will probably keep them quiet for a while, since 'having seen this film' undoubtedly cleansed many souls.
The film's first hour is spent in the extreme southern corners of the continent, in Patagonia, which plays more like a National Geographic episode with some laughably awful dramatics in between. Some time is spent in central Chile and by the 57 minute we arrive in Peru. They use a shot of exactly the same mountain in exactly the same angle (prabably very consciously done) as in AGUIRRE: DER ZORN GOTTES by Werner Herzog, near the ruins of Machu Picchu. This was one of the worst parts of the film, where our infallible heroes engage in some embarrassing chit chat, and - en passant - blame colonialism, Catholicism and modern capitalism for all misery, while talking to some local Incan descendants about how they're gonna put an end to poverty in the world.
Director Walter Salles has an indestructible believe in the goodness of mankind. I do not share this view, but such a perspective shouldn't be a barrier upfront for making a decent film. Salles, however, shows our hero as a completely one-note morally unambiguous robot. He is like a God to him. He seems to lack any questioning about his morals or world view. His view is already established at a young age and now the world has to adapt to his insights, and to this film, which does nothing but play lip-service to these, which results in even more suffering for the audience. All political views aside, the film doesn't offer the slightest assault of the senses, with two incredibly uninteresting characters. The film is largely made to tell the story of Che Guevara, or perhaps show us the diversity of South-American culture and its people, but the film's observations are alarmingly clichéd, contrived and repetitive.
Camera Obscura --- 0/10
