Help on Wheels

The Motorcycle Diaries

                The historical context of this film is set up by the use of people and scenery. South America at this time is recovering from the effects of World War II. Many of the people that Fuser and Alberto encounter during their trip are displaced and looking for work (specifically the couple they met in the Atacama Desert). Those who did have a home were living under poor conditions (the family in Cuzco). The scenery they passed through was filled with car and trucks from the fifties and the buildings were dated.

                Ernesto “Fuser” Guevara, later to be widely known as Che, is a medical student with asthma. The audience of the film is meant to relate to Ernesto through his vulnerability, innocence, and naivety. As he travels through South America he learns, not only about other social classes, but about himself. The audience is supposed to feel his hurt for the plight of the people he helps. In the beginning of the film Ernesto is concerned only about his future and settling down. This changes by the end of the film Ernesto is a selfless individual only concerned with the future of the people of South America. I believe that most of Ernesto's characterization happens when he meets the couple in the Atacama Desert. He learns that the government was not fair to everyone, and that a large portion of the population is living hand to mouth. Most importantly this is where he first beings to contemplate communism.

http://www.focusfeatures.com/motorcycle_diaries/photos

This photo represents the life Fuser is planning for himself. Here he is dancing with girlfriend at the time. 

                Alberto, Ernesto’s best friend, is a less well known historical figure. The Audience is intended to relate to Alberto’s quirkiness and his frustration with Ernesto’s honesty and dedication. Alberto represents a free spirit. By the end of the film he realizes that he needs to settle down and start building a life for himself. Most of Alberto’s characterization happens in the San Pablo leper colony. This is where he begins to realize that there is more to life than chasing women and having adventures. He does this by getting a job in a hospital. 

http://www.focusfeatures.com/motorcycle_diaries

This photo shows the two young men at the beginning of their long journey.

                Both characters are motivated by helping people, although Ernesto more so than Alberto. Alberto is, quite honestly, motivated by women. Arguably, women are one of the main driving points to why they began this epic journey in the first place. In reality Ernesto was quite the ladies’ man, but the film portrays him as less interested to make him seem more selfless. Ernesto and Alberto are also motivated by the need and determination to finish what they started. At any point they could have given up and gone home. It would have been easier, and probably safer to quit.

All of Ernesto’s motivation stems from his need to help people by the end of the film. His motivation is shown through his physical determination to swim across the river. His determination is also shown through his need to make an emotional connection with the people in the leper colony. Ernesto goes against all the rules and makes skin to skin contact with the lepers, and then builds trust with them through unconditional friendship and caring. He is so motivated to help people that he puts his own life at risk at several points in the film.

http://joy-of-books.blogspot.com/2006/02/motorcycle-diaries-book-and-film.html

This picture shows Ernesto cleaning the wounds of one of the colony member's feet. This is one of the ways that he connected with the people living there. Ernesto was unafraid to touch them without gloves. This was a first for many of the people since being put in the colony by family, friends, or employers. 

The intent of this film was to show the development and character growth of Ernesto Guevara. This journey is what molded him into the leader and famous historical figure he became. The message that Ernesto delivers to the audience is that everyone deserves help. Ernesto helped everyone no matter their social class or what they could give him in return. He was fascinated by other people and the relationships they had with each other. 

I believe that this was a great film. With the help of the real Alberto Granado, this film was a huge success. Although the movie uses dramatic licence to make get away's more close and trickery to make their adventures more exciting, much of the film accurately portrays the youth of the young new revolutionary.    

References

 “Just a Pretty Face?” The Guardian, July 10, 2004 

Eduardo Elena, “Point of Departure: Travel and Nationalism in Ernesto Guevara’s Argentina” in Che’s Travels: The Making of a Revolutionary in 1950s Latin America

Paulo Drinot, “Introduction” in Che’s Travels: The Making of a Revolutionary in 1950s Latin America, pp. 1-12, up to the end of the section on the Eduardo Elena article. This is a portion of the introduction