Portraying the Enigma That is 'Che'(originally published in The Chicago Flame, September 14, 2004)
Ernesto "Che" Guevara is among the most famous yet little understood political figures to have ever lived. Stroll downtown and you'll almost definitely see his image printed on a T-shirt or a backpack. His life story is very unbalanced, a struggle between the images of being a leader of the people and a crazed radical. Opinions vary to this day.
"He's well known but he's not," says Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, who portrays him in The Motorcycle Diaries. "He's an icon that people recognize, but people don't know [about him]. We [Latinos] relate strongly to him. He's still so alive."
Going about portraying a famous figure in a movie is a challenge to any actor. Bernal is no exception.
"It was heavy and overwhelming. We prepared exhaustingly for six months, and then I still didn't feel ready. I wanted to do it well. It's who I am." Bernal adds: "He [Guevara] needed our experiences to be alive [on the screen]."
The new film by Walter Salles is astonishing. It tells Guevara's story from the beginning, based on his memoirs. We don't necessarily see a revolutionary in the making, but a young man being exposed to the world's harsh inequalities. Guevara was a medical student from Argentina when he and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) embarked on a motorcycle trip across South America.
The two men have a couple of strikes against them. Granado's motorcycle is in anything but good condition, and Guevara suffers from a severe case of asthma, which plagued him throughout his life.
"He was weak," says Bernal. "He was quiet and observant."
But, in the tradition of any "road movie," the two men won't let anything stop or postpone the journey.
The first leg of their trip is to visit Celia, Ernesto's love interest. The two are definitely made for each other, but are plagued by sexual frustration and the looming continuation of his trip. She gives him fifteen American dollars to buy her a bikini, should he reach the United States.
The interactions between Guevara and Granado (both before and after the first detour) are very important in setting up the mood for the rest of the film. Their dialogue is playful, humorous, and juvenile.
"I could use my voice," comments Bernal, "and not be so heroic and dramatic."
We know that the film will detail Guevara's ideological changes, but the script and the acting are very natural. Neither man gets weighed down in tiresome, scripted dialogue. It's very likely that they engaged in banter like that. The film doesn't rush the central message.
As their travels continue, they get into some hilarious misadventures. While in Chile, in order to get their motorcycle fixed for free, they interact with the locals, getting on their good side while over-hyping their medical skills. Why would they do that? Well, it's enough to land them in the local newspaper, which is good to flash at the town mechanic when they're low on cash.
Once they enter Venezuela and Peru, Guevara gets a hard look at the downtrodden citizens. They meet an elderly mining couple, desperate for work and persecuted for their communist beliefs. Their work at a Peruvian leper colony further shows Guevara the separation between rich and poor.
His journal entry at an ancient Incan city sums up the discrepancies: "The Incas had astronomy, knew brain surgery, and mathematics. The Spanish [who destroyed the Incan civilization] had gunpowder."
To properly analyze this film, one must begin with the acting, led by Gael Garcia Bernal. He is arguably the greatest actor in world cinema. His past films (Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Crime of Padre Amaro) quickly showed American audiences how talented he is, in addition to drawing a lot of controversy for their subject matters. Bernal has no problem with controversy over his or anyone else's films.
"Controversy is when a personal point of view is exposed," he explains. "It's healthy."
Rodrigo de la Serna provides a wonderful parallel as Granado, being both the main comic relief and a touching mode of understanding for the youthful Guevara.
Like any political leader, "Che" Guevara was by no means perfect. He was a leader of the people, and his opposition to U.S. intervention in Latin America led to his assassination in 1967.
"Democracy is very fishy," says Bernal. "There's no real representation or way of governing. The U.S. is not a great nation, it's a great people."
"That's what cost him [Guevara] his life."
Most importantly, Guevara was human. The Motorcycle Diaries shows the compassion and determination of a young man during a crucial stage in his life. All politics aside, the film is a moving, beautiful tribute to the desire for equality.
The film will surely add to Bernal's growing reputation as the world's greatest actor.
"[I'll only do a movie] if there's something meaningful," he says. "I feel shitty not doing something comfortable. It's not for the money...if it was, I'd be living in LA and trying to be a star."
Most importantly, Bernal is optimistic that The Motorcycle Diaries will be an inspiration to people everywhere.
"It re-affirmed my priorities and challenged me. It's an approach, a pathway to knowledge. You can understand the human condition and work to change it."
1 comment:
What did he say that was so offensive? If that's offensive than we are a weaker society than I thought..and I already that we were pretty pathetic. There is always someone who can find any comment offensive. I'm kind and wouldn't say anything to hurt another's feelings, but why should people always have to apologize if there are hurt feelings? I feel so sorry for the generation below me. Like my daddy always said when I complained about someone being unfair or hurting my feels-suck it up and stop whining. I wish more people would do the same.
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