One fine day Che Guevara walked right into Panjim's Kala Academy theatre. And the moviebuffs got something to talk about in the new-look IFFI 2004, an event full of festivities but dull on that vital component called cinema.
Even as I kept wondering, one fine day Che walked rightinto Panjim’s Kala Academy theatre on the banks of the river Mandovi, from allthose beachside shacks. And the moviebuffs got something to talk about in thenew-look International Film Festival of India 2004, an event full of festivitiesbut dull on that vital component called cinema.
Walter Salles’ The Motorcycle Diaries, the "find" of this year'sSundance festival, is as engrossing as it can be tricky. To an extent the filmviews Che, who in many ways has become a glamorous poster boy for dissent andprotest, through rose-tinted glasses. But then can you ever take romance out ofChe’s revolutionary zeal? More so when you have a charismatic Gael GarciaBernal playing the icon.
The film deals with the early life of Che as he and hisfriend Alberto Granado venture on a motorcycle trip over South America. At thestart of their journey they are like any other youngster, immature, callow andobsessed with women, love and romance. The film traces their evolution intorevolutionary politics, how they get involved in issues than with girls and howthey find a direction and meaning in life in a leper colony. The changes in thefilm’s protagonists are entirely believable, it reflects in how the softnessand beauty of Bernal’s eyes changes to a firm resolve. However, the film’stone, at times, hinges too much on the emotional and the preachy, especiallytowards the end.
The setting is a small, war-hitBosnian town infested with crime, prostitution and corruption. Yet people don’tlose their hope and laughter. Then, one fine day, the US President Bill Clintondecides to come on a visit. Will he become the "godfather" of the town who’llalso bring along happiness, prosperity and progress? As the town spruces up topresent its best face forward to Clinton and to "democracy" a bitter-sweetfilm takes shape.