In 1988, after 15 years of Chiliean dictator General Augusto Pinochet's rule, the people called for a national plebiscite (referendum) to legitamize his power. If he received majority of "yes" votes, he would stay in office. If he received a majority of "no" votes, he would be ousted. The film "No" is based on an unfinished play El Plebiscito, written by Antonio Skármeta. Mexican actor Gael García Bernal plays René Saavedra, an ad man who is chosen to help the opposition defeat Pinochet.
The first thing someone will notice is that the entire film was filmed on a 3/4-inch Sony U-matic magnetic tape which gives the same look as the television news footage in Chile of that time. The film has a distorted color register which when enlarged gives slight halos to figures, but certainly throws us back into that time period.
The late eighties offered a marked contrast of life for Chile. As many as 3,200 people were killed, 80,000 were locked up and at least 30,000 were tortured, including women and children. Living conditions for the poor were difficult, while for many of the young people it proved an exciting time of great technical advancements where change could come about from many sources. René, for example, buys a microwave and is fascinated by the new technology. He delights in making a cheese-sandwich in seconds for his son.
René, who seems rather apolitical, is approached to help the opposition oust Pinochet using the techniques of his world to create 15 minute ad campaigns which will play on television each day for a week before the referendum. The intense opposition wants to catalog the horrors of the Pinochet regime. René feels the way to sell the “No” vote is the positive techniques of happy, attractive people, slogans, jingles, fast cuts.
René's team picks as its visual image a rainbow. There is a long discussion as to whether it will be confused as a gay symbol or something else. The argument eventually stresses that it means the diversity of everyone in Chile and is based on one of the native Indian flags, not the gay flag.
Can the world be changed by advertising? That is the premise of the film. As an audience, we are shown both René's teams and the opposition headed finally by René's boss, contrasted against the threatening world of Pinochet's army which tries to strong-arm and intimidate René's compatriots.
Bernal is commands the attention of the viewer. He has large intelligent eyes which seem to analyze fully the world around him. He is a perfect choice for an intelligent protagonist. His ex-wife is an activist who is beat up twice by the police during the film, and we watch René's political awareness grow with each confrontation. As a single parent protecting his son, he conveys to us the fear of loss that so many of Pinochet's victim's families felt.
For those who saw and like Argo, there is a lot of similarity between the two films: the attempt to recreate the time period; the theme of personal involvement above personal safety; strong nationalism. Just as audiences felt like cheering at the conclusion, audiences here have something to cheer about.
I laughed out loud at an elderly gentleman a few seats down to turned to his wife when the film finished and said, “I guess this was a real event.”
No was justifiably nominated for Best Picture in this year’s Academy Awards.
No (2012) ****
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