7 Important Biopics That Were Derailed By Massive Problems

6. The Motorcycle Diaries

Long before he took on the name Che, a young Argentinean doctor by the name of Ernesto Guevara embarked on a life changing motorcycle tour of South America. He saw first-hand capitalist exploitation; the unwavering western intervention; and the personal cost of poverty. The adventure was scribbled into a diary, showing the transformation of Guevara from middle class student to fully fledged Marxist revolutionary. The film is in Spanish (keeping true to its roots), meaning us English speakers must read the subtitles- this is not a weakness, but does make the film somewhat inaccessible. The film is inherently political, depicting in pretty brutal honesty the callous exploitation in Chile, the isolation of lepers in Peru and the omnipresent hand of western imperialism throughout South America. While the film does an amazing job of putting the book into movie format, it takes 3 or 4 anecdotes to run with, ignoring countless others. Che Guevara is depicted as a Saint. But who is not a Saint in their own eyes? If you were to write a film by connecting Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram updates I'm convinced any of your exploitation, immorality, and conniving acts would be strangely absent. This all makes sense when you think of what the final product is; a man emblazed on countless Marxist paraphernalia (t-shirts, mugs, napkins, hats, flags...). This counterculture hero has to be held up as a saint to keep these products selling (and keep the capitalist cogs moving). Che Guevara ruthlessly and barbarically oversaw politically motivated executions following Castro's revolution, but this is ignored in all film adaptations of the extraordinary life of the dedicated Marxist revolutionary.