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Y tú mamà tambien's Gael Garcia Bernal is back on the road in Walter Salles'
latest, which tells the story of the young Ernesto Guevara, who you may
remember from such revolutions as "The Cuban" while he was operating under
the name Che. I didn't know much about Guevara before I saw this film, other
than the impact he had on the stoner t-shirt and poster market. But I can
tell you this: Aside from not being an English-language film, Diaries walks
and talks like a genuine Best Picture nominee.
Diaries, which Bernal narrates (almost as if reading from some kind
of.diary), shows the journey 23-year-old Guevara and friend Alberto Granada
(Rodrigo de la Serna, who is actually a relative of Guevara) take in early
1952. Their trip is supposed to take them through all of South America,
eventually landing them in a Peruvian leprosy farm, where the two plan to
spend three weeks furthering their medical studies. But, like the shooting
of Apocalypse Now, the voyage takes much more time and much more money than
either of them planned.
There's trouble with the weather, the locals, and their broken-down
motorcycle, not to mention the spats Ernesto and Alberto have amongst each
other. The two young men are forced to rely on the charity of others, and
often have to lie to accomplish this task (it's kind of like being on The
Amazing Race). But once they hit the Andes, the asthma-afflicted Ernesto
starts to see a different side of his continent. He literally starts to see
things in black and white for the first time, and when that happens, we get
to see the origin of his political roots.
Laced with the perfect amount of drama, humor, history and lack of forced
romance, Diaries is far from being flawless. It does, however, cover all of
the bases in terms of being an Oscar contender (especially the ending). You
can pencil in de la Serna for a Supporting Actor nod, too - this role has
nomination written all over it. Bernal is less successful, but by no means
less than acceptable. Plus he has Bad Education coming out (look for that
review tomorrow).
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