Film about young Che Guevara opens this weekend

A Spanish-language film, Diarios de motocicleta, that is being promoted heavily in the United States opens today in limited markets. The Argentine film, marketed in English-speaking areas as The Motorcycle Diaries, tells the based-on-real-life story of a young Che Guevara, who went on a long motorcycle trip across South America with close friend, Alberto Granado, in the early 1950s while taking a year off from medical school in Argentina.
 
The film is based on memoirs from the trip. It stars Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, who earlier has appeared in three Mexican movies that have been on the indie circuit in the United States: Amores Perros, Y tu mamá también, and El crimen del padre Amaro.
 
Guevara is the Cuban revolutionary whose image is well-recognized throughout Latin America and who has become something of a folk hero in certain areas due to his strong anti-American feelings and his willingness to give up his life to his cause despite being born into an upper-class background. He also has been criticized over the years for some of his violent actions, including his taking part in numerous executions of political prisoners in Castro's Cuba.
 
It was during the motorcycle trip portrayed in the movie that Guevara developed many of his revolutionary ideals. He later went on to play a key role in the Cuban revolution and became a leading figure in Fidel Castro's government. His later efforts to export revolution to other countries, particularly Bolivia, proved to be less successful.
 
Diarios de motocicleta opened in Spain and Argentina in July, and it also has played in other parts of Europe. See the film's official bilingual Web site...