Review of No (2012) by Greg T — 20 Feb 2013

In 1988 the people of Chile were given a referendum on whether they wanted to give their dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, more years in power. With the eyes of the world watching a country that had been mired for years in brutality and oppression, the battle for the future of the country was fought in 15 minute nightly slots on state television, when the yes and no campaigns each got a turn to set out their vision for the country while taking shots at the opposition.

NO, Pablo Larrain's third film about Chile's history, takes the "Mad Men" approach, looking at the "no" campaign through the eyes of Rene Saavedra, a young buck marketing exec who joins the campaign despite not having the deep hatred of the regime that his co-workers have.

Much of the film, then, is to-ing and fro-ing in boardrooms and television studios, with the country's future depending on delicate, divisive decisions around tone and content within the broadcasts (which are cringe-inducingly recognisable for anyone who grew up in the 80s).

And, unexpectedly, it's thrilling stuff, aided by being shot in video support U-matic 3:4, which gives the authentic feel of 1980s newsreel footage and the sense of really seeing something important unfolding.

Gael Garcia Bernal is as magnetic as always, his sad eyes betraying his own personal circumstances against the background of a nation on the edge. His final scene is brilliant in its irony and ambiguity, a fitting conclusion to an excellent, thoughtful film.

"No" is definitely, in this case, a yes...