No

One of the nominees for last year's Best Foreign Language Oscar, No, a film by Pablo Larrain,  tells an interesting bit of Chilean history. In 1988, under mounting international political pressure, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet agreed to hold a plebiscite. With a simple yes or no vote, the public would decide whether to extend his term as president for eight years, or hold a democratic election for president.

Each side would get fifteen minutes of airtime a day. The No side, a collection of many different political parties, planned on using the horrendous record of Pinochet's torture and executions. But an advertising man (Gael Garcia Bernal) tells them that's all wrong. They have to sell a product, and it has to be light-hearted and funny.

And so we learn about how advertising works, whether it's to pitch a soda or a political idea. Bernal's approach works, and so his boss, a Pinochet supporter, offers him a partnership if he quits. Bernal refuses, so that boss takes over the Yes campaign. Meanwhile, Bernal and his family are intimidated by goon squads.

Larrain shot No using the same kind of video seen in newscasts, which gives it a off-putting quality. It also makes liberal use of the actual advertisements from the campaign (they got celebrity endorsements from American film stars). The editing is briskly paced, with conversations continuing over multiple locations.

Though No is entertaining, here's my problem with it--it has no surprises. By now, we know that a candidate is sold like a bar of soap, though they didn't seem to realize that in Chile in 1988. And the eventual outcome, which I wasn't sure of but surely Chileans would know, is inevitable. Everyone doubts Bernal, from his radical ex-wife to his boss, so we can sort of figure out how this will go.

Still, No is a well-made document of an interesting period in Latin American history, and is well worth a viewing.