It's hard to say if hindsight humanizes the revered and mythologized. Director Walter Salles' film, The Motorcycle Diaries, attempts to travel back in time and watch Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the famed Cuban revolutionary of the Sixties, experience an epiphany of life-altering proportions during a lengthy journey from one end of South America to the other. This journey would be little more than an elegiac poem to a bygone continent were it not for the smoldering, passionate performance of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) as Che. His work here cements him among the white-hot firmament of twenty-something Hollywood stars ― it's brilliant, understated stuff that gives Salles' uneven but powerful film its soul.

Along with his biochemist pal, Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), medical student Che sets out on a rickety motorcycle to experience a continent that both men had only heretofore experienced in books ― a literal coming-of-age journey (and no, it's not the last time that Jose Rivera's screenplay, culled from Guevara's journals and Granado's novel, is that painfully obvious). The destination isn't half as important as the journey to Salles, who fills the spaces between episodes with sweeping, gorgeous shots of lush, mysterious South American jungles, mountains and deserts. Eric Gautier's cinematography is the third star of The Motorcycle Diaries; without his urgent, naturalistic work, much of the punch of Salles' film would be lost.

Ultimately, The Motorcycle Diaries is a frustrating experience as the director so clearly wants the audience to sympathize with the controversial revolutionary that Che would become, yet still embrace the tender story of a man discovering himself and his homeland. Alberto, whom the audience would assume is their entry into the story, is largely relegated to second-string status within his own tale ― this film is more about sowing the seeds for a future leader and less about a journey that two men shared, which is to the narrative's detriment. Missed opportunities aside, de la Serna and Bernal do share a likable chemistry that smoothes over the film's rough spots and makes The Motorcycle Diaries a journey worth taking.

The Video:

As I said previously, Eric Gautier's cinematography is truly a wonder to behold; he frames Granado and Che against some breathtaking South American vistas to which this fine 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer does ample justice. There's a little grain that seems to be inherent in the source material but it only adds to the overall feel of the film. Very nice.

Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 are the two audio options available here; I only sampled the Spanish track – it got the job done. There's a little ambient sound as the pair travels through rain, snow and baking heat, all of which this soundtrack handles easily. Just as the visuals are well represented, so too is the aural end of things. English and French subtitles are on board as well but the film features forced English subtitles – all the non-forced subtitles do is catch noises, such as doors opening.

For an art film that didn't linger too long in theaters, Universal has seen fit to include a sizable number of extras here, including a 22-minute behind-the-scenes doc – "The Making of The Motorcycle Diaries" – as well as a number of other featurettes: 8 minutes of deleted scenes, presented in non-anamorphic widescreen; the 3-minute "A Moment With Alberto Granado," the 3-minute "A Moment with Gael Garcia Bernal" (taken from an interview with Vanessa Hauk of Telemundo's "Al Rojo Vivo") "Tomo Uno with Gael Garcia Bernal," a 2-minute clip taken from Mun 2, a spin-off from Telemundo and "Music of the Road," a 3-minute feature that focuses on the evocative soundtrack composed by Gustavo Santaolalla. A director's commentary had been rumored for inclusion but sadly, there isn't one. All of these bonus features are in Spanish with subtitles, save for the Santaolalla featurette.

Salles has crafted a film that asks audiences to embrace a controversial figure in his formative years, a task made admittedly much easier thanks to Bernal's magnetic performance as Ernesto "Che" Guevara. There's enough good about the film to recommend it without hesitation but Salles missteps (frustratingly) just enough to keep The Motorcycle Diaries from being a masterful biopic.