I also found this film oddly unsatisfying, but hardly poor. The scenery and general cinematography are outstanding and the performances are uniformly fine. But there is something altogether too abrupt in the portrayal of Guevara's radicalization. At the same time, not enough of the internal dimension of this metamorphosis is communicated visually or through performance. The symbolism of the broken-down motorcycle is not sufficient substitute for the scope of these changes, and I could have used more development of this passage. Without this, the later scenes at the leper colony come across as too facile and strangely reminiscent of a TV-movie of the week. I wanted to like this film very much, but found myself leaving the theater unmoved.
Review of The Motorcycle Diaries
