Although less known than the “usual” biker titles, there are other films in which the motorcycle serves as a support to tell more serious, more human and more transcendent stories. Titles in which a motorcycle trip becomes the pretext to show deeper arguments, more adult registers, harsher environments and more tortured characters.
So, we are going to review some “motorcycle” movie titles capable of moving and making even those who have never gotten behind a handlebar feel the emotion of the air on their faces.
Released in 2005, based on real events and starring – none other than – the great Anthony Hopkins, the film narrates the world speed record achieved by New Zealander Burt Munro in 1967 at the age of 68. But more than about a motorcycling exploit, the film is a reflection on old age, friendship and the barriers that society imposes on a person for the mere fact of being a certain age and trying to do “young” things.
Another film – in this case from 2004 and starring Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna – that collects historical events, in this case the trip that Ernesto “Che” Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado made in 1952 through the poorest and most profound experience at the controls of “La Poderosa” – a Norton 500 – and which served to awaken the social conscience of the future revolutionary leader. Produced by Robert Redford, it won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2005 for Al Otro Lado del Río, by Jorge Drexler, along with 21 other international awards.
This 2019 film, little known in our country and starring Max Martini and with an important role by the always reliable Gary Sinise, narrates the journey through American roads of an Iraq veteran with brain injuries produced in combat and post-traumatic syndrome. The motorcycle journey and the people he meets during said trip, whose final destination is to reunite with his son, have a therapeutic effect on the protagonist, although the film is not exempt from action scenes when he remembers the horrors of war.
Jason Momoa shows in this 2014 film that he is not just Aquaman. In Road to Paloma he is Robert Wolf, a Native American who is pursued by the FBI for a crime that he has committed after taking the law into his own hands due to the apathy of the authorities when investigating the rape and murder of his mother. . A motorcycle escape with which, in addition to escaping justice, he intends to reach the final destination of his mother’s ashes.
Produced in 2022, it has just hit the screens. They say this French film starring Julie Ledrou and which narrates the dealings of Julie – a marginal girl from the Banlieu with a natural ability to ride a motorcycle and a lot of charisma – is one of the premieres of the season. Pure and simple French social cinema with the smell of gasoline and a lot of energy.
Another film – from 2021 – that explains a journey of inner knowledge. In this case, the one made from Manchester to Brighton by John Parker, a 19-year-old British boy played by Max Boast with an old Lambretta that he inherited from his father, who had been an active member of the Mod movement. A charming film that alternates humor and drama and with a soundtrack featuring songs by The Jam, Paul Weller and The Chords
A 2019 film that narrates the life of the engineer Enrico Piaggio – recreated by Alessio Boni – and the creation of one of the greatest myths in the world of two wheels: the Vespa. But the film goes much further in explaining the vicissitudes that he had to face first with a fascist regime that he detested, later the mafia and then the turbulent politics of the transalpine country until he managed to turn an initial failure into a world icon. And all this while starting a romantic relationship frowned upon by the morals of the time.
Starring Alex Monner and directed by Daniel Calparsoro, one of the best action film narrators in our cinema. Centauro is a 2022 adaptation of the French film Burn Out and narrates the adventures of Rafa, a Superbike rider forced to work for drug traffickers in order to pay the debt acquired by the mother of his son. Who said that in Spain we don’t know how to make fast-paced films?