The Motorcycle Diaries
Directed by Walter Salles · 2004 ·
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) earns a 79% Celluloid Score — Recommended. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.
Calculated from 4 available inputs: Celluloid editorial rating, Metascore, Letterboxd and IMDb. Audience sentiment is shown separately and never changes the composite. See how we calculate scores.
4-input transparent breakdown
Focus Features Where to watch
- Prime Video
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home
Why this score?
- Celluloid's editorial rating is positive (83/100).
- General viewers mostly liked it (87%).
- Metascore is generally favorable (75/100).
- Letterboxd diarists rate it highly (4/5).
- Celluloid Score 79% combines 4 verified rating inputs; audience sentiment is shown separately.
Best for
- Viewers who want a well-regarded biography, drama pick
Not ideal for
Scores reflect data indexed at build time. Component sources are shown on this page; Celluloid Score is our composite, not a third-party trademark. Scoring policy
Streaming availability, artwork and title metadata courtesy of TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Is The Motorcycle Diaries worth watching?
Yes — The Motorcycle Diaries earns a 79% Celluloid Score. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.
Celluloid Verdict
Salles' road movie humanizes an icon before ideology hardened, with Gael García Bernal luminous in the lead.
Celluloid editorial verdict
Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.
What is The Motorcycle Diaries about?
Young Che Guevara and Alberto Granado travel across South America on a motorcycle, witnessing poverty that shapes revolutionary consciousness.
Watch the Trailer
Critic Reviews
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) Review: A Mexican Classic
★★★★½
Walter Salles's The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) endures as a defining biography landmark from Mexico, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.
Strongly recommended — a staple of its national cinema.
The Motorcycle Diaries stills
Official production imagery supplied through TMDB, kept with the movie instead of split into a thin gallery page.
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