FILM VAULT TUESDAY

I had a Film Vault Tuesday all written up and ready to go… it was a very good movie, picked at random, with no connection to the events of yesterday.

As I said in my last “political” blog on the issue- people have already made their minds up about immigration so I really don’t want to get into that discussion… Everything that can be said has been said already, by voices far more eloquent and powerful than mine. As far as I'm concerned, for me to try and summarize the arguments or debate the issues would be a waste of my time and yours.

While I do take myself too seriously at times, I hold no illusions that my words can change opinions or provoke any meaningful discussion… I’m just a mediocre writer with a blog. I write about movies, cleavage, and my own personal shortcomings. Sometimes I’m funny, and occasionally I write something worth reading while you try to distract yourself from work- but that’s it.

If you’re looking for a place to debate the issues, those places are out there… I might even suggest one to you: The Informant is soliciting thoughts and opinions on the subject of immigration right now, and she has some interesting views of her own.

I would like to make some observations peripheral to the recent protesting without being too “preachy” about the specific issue at hand… my soap box is broken.

Something that I have found very promising about all the recent activism is the types of faces I’ve seen in the crowd...

I’m not talking about the color of the faces, no, what’s impressed me is the age of many of the faces… kids… children… high school students, middle school students. Kids who would normally be planted in front of a television, or lost in a world of video games and music videos- are instead getting a hand’s on experience at what it’s like to participate in their country’s future.

These are kids who will vote… at the 2004 elections only 55% percent of people eligible to vote actually did… you can bet that these kids won't be a part pf the voiceless 45%.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of immigration, seeing young people take notice of a world outside of their own little social circles is cause for optimism.

When I was in High School I would say I was (sadly) much more politically aware than any of my peers... and yet I didn’t really have any thoughts or opinions of my own!

I certainly didn’t take part or participate in the political process… I just had a vague awareness of current events.

It wasn’t until I read a book called The Motorcycle Diaries that I actually began to form my own opinions on the world around me… to take notice of social injustice… to question why things happen… or what could be done…

Up until that point I could tell you things like: “People are debating this NAFTA bill,” but I couldn’t tell you why. And I didn’t care to be honest… Che’s book made me ashamed that I could tell you about who’s on the People’s Most Beautiful People list, but I couldn’t tell you anything about the hypocrisy of my own country's foreign policy.

Whatever criticisms you may have about Che (and some of the criticisms are very valid) you have to admire his passion, his honesty, and his need to be an active participant in the world around him. This is a man who died for his belief that the poor and disenfranchised people all across the world deserve equal rights... You can argue that he used the wrong method to further his cause, but you can't argue against his cause.

So in honor of all the young protestors that have recently had their eyes opened to the world around them, this week’s Film Vault Tuesday will feature the movie version of the book that opened mine:

Title: Diarios de Motocicleta – Motorcycle Diaries, (2004)

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna

Why: When I first read that there would be a movie based on a book that meant SO much to me- I was angry… I was angry in the same way I get when I see a teenager who has no idea what Che stood for walking around the mall wearing the T-Shirt simply because he saw Jay-Z wearing one.

I was worried they would alter, change, and rewrite until the script had nothing to do with the book at all.

What worried me most was the thought the millions of kids might see go see a crappy movie that failed to capture the essence of of the man... That they might see that crappy movie and then walk away saying: “Oh Ernesto Guevara, I know who he was, I saw that movie…”

Then I found out that one of my 2 or 3 favorite actors- Gael Garcia Bernal- was going to be the star… ugh, that meant I had to watch it… and so I did… and it far surpassed my expectations.

Taking on the role of Guevara is an insanely difficult task- but Gael some how did it (he even nailed the Argentine accent!)… Making a script out of the book without pissing people off was an insanely difficult task, but Jose Rivera somehow did it…

The whole time I was watching the movie I was waiting for something to go wrong, but that moment never came... there were a couple of very slight changes made- but they were so subtle that I would feel a like an ass for even pointing them out.

Also, kudos to Rodrigo De la Serna for his portrayal of Ernesto’s travel companion Alberto Granado… I had never heard or seen Rodrigo before and he totally blew me away with his acting chops… I dare to say that he, at times out shined Gael.

Remote Stopper Scene: Clearly this would be Ernesto’s birthday party and river swim scene… The fabulous speech (which they recreated word for word I might add) and then his subsequent swim across the river... This is actually one of the subtle changes they made. I know I said I wouldn’t mention it, but... the swim actually took place during the afternoon, way before the party, and wasn’t quite as dramatic as the movie led you to believe (at least according to Che’s account, I have not read Granado’s account of the incident).

Goosebumps/Tear Factor: Several goosebump moments. One that stands out is their first peek at Machu Picchu.

As far as tears go, several moments as well… [1] The mining couple and the discovery of where Chichina’s money went [2] The leper colony goodbye, and [3] obviously Granado and Guevara’s goodbye.

Overall: 9 out of 10… Of course, no movie has ever been better than the book- not even the greatest movie of all (The Godfather) was better than the book… When a great writing is made into a movie the best you can hope for is that it captures the spirit and the meaning of the book.

The Motorcycle Diaries is a coming of age adventure about friendship and travel... but most of all it’s about social awakening… And the movie somehow manages to capture all that- which (according to me at least) is all you can hope for.