No (2012 film)


No is a 2012 internationally co-produced historical drama film directed by Pablo Larraín. The film is based on the unpublished play El Plebiscito, written by Antonio Skármeta. Mexican actor Gael García Bernal plays René, an in-demand advertising man working in Chile in the late 1980s. The film captures the advertising tactics in the political campaigns for the 1988 plebiscite, when the Chilean citizenry decided whether or not dictator Augusto Pinochet should stay in power for another eight years. At the 85th Academy Awards the film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Plot

After fifteen years of military dictatorship and facing considerable international pressure, Chile's regime asks the public of Chile to vote in the national plebiscite of 1988 on whether General Augusto Pinochet should stay in power for another eight years, or whether there should be an open democratic presidential election the following year.
René Saavedra, a successful advertisement creator, is approached by the "No" side to consult on their proposed advertising. Behind the back of his politically conservative boss, Saavedra agrees to participate and finds that the advertising is a dourly unappealing litany of the regime's abuses created by an organization that has no confidence in its efforts. Enticed by the marketing challenge and his own loathing of Pinochet's tyranny, he proposes to the advertising subcommittee that they take a lighthearted, upbeat promotional approach stressing abstract concepts like "joy" to challenge concerns that voting in a referendum under a notoriously brutal military junta would be politically meaningless and dangerous.
While the unorthodox marketing theme is dismissed by some "No" members as a facile dismissal of the regime's horrific abuses, the proposal is approved for the campaign. Saavedra, his son, and his comrades are eventually targeted and intimidated by the authorities. Eventually, Saavedra's boss Lucho finds out about his employee's activities, but when Saavedra refuses an offer to become a partner if he withdraws, Lucho goes to head the "Yes" campaign as a matter of survival.
The historic campaign took place in 27 nights of television advertisements, in which each side had 15 minutes per night to present its point of view. During that month, the "No" campaign, created by the majority of Chile's artistic community, proved effective with a series of entertaining and insightful presentations that had an irresistible cross-demographic appeal. By contrast, the "Yes" campaign's advertising, with only dry positive economic data in its favor and few creative personnel on call, was derided even by government officials as crass and heavy-handed.
Although the government tries to interfere with the "No" side with further intimidation and blatant censorship, Rene and his team use those tactics to their favor in their marketing, and public sympathy shifts to them. As the campaign heats up in the concluding days with international Hollywood celebrity spots and wildly popular street concert rallies of the "No" campaign, while the "Yes" side is reduced to desperately parodying the "No" ads.
On the day of the referendum, it momentarily appears that the "Yes" vote has the lead, but the final result turns out to be firmly on the "No" side. The final proof only comes when the troops surrounding the No headquarters withdraw, as the news of the Chilean senior military command forcing Pinochet to concede comes through. After the success, Saavedra and his boss resume their normal advertising business with a new Chile being born.
The film ends with historical footage of Pinochet handing over power to newly elected president Patricio Aylwin.

Cast

At the Telluride Film Festival, the film was shown outdoors and was rained on. It was also screened at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. No played as a Spotlight selection at the Sundance Film Festival. Gael García Bernal attended the Toronto International Film Festival where No was screened. The film was released in the UK by Network on 8 February 2013.

Reception

Praise

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 93% rating based on 117 reviews.
Writing in May 2012, Time Out New York critic David Fear called No "the closest thing to a masterpiece that I've seen so far here in Cannes". Variety reviewer Leslie Felperin felt the film had the "potential to break out of the usual ghettos that keep Latin American cinema walled off from non-Hispanic territories.....with the international success of Mad Men, marketing campaigners should think about capitalizing on viewers’ fascination everywhere with portraits of the advertising industry itself, engagingly scrutinized here with a delicious, Matthew Weiner-style eye for period detail."
One of the unique features of the film was Larraín's decision to use ¾ inch Sony U-matic magnetic tape, which was widely used by television news in the 80s. The Hollywood Reporter argues that this decision probably lessened the film's chances "commercially and with Oscar voters." The Village Voice reviewer commented that the film "allows Larrain's new material to mesh quite seamlessly with c. 1988 footage of actual police crackdowns and pro-democracy assemblages, an accomplishment in cinematic verisimilitude situated anxiously at the halfway point between Medium Cool and Forrest Gump."

Criticism

The film received mixed reviews in Chile. Several commentators, including Genaro Arriagada, who directed the "No" campaign, accused the film of simplifying history and in particular of focusing exclusively on the television advertising campaign, ignoring the crucial role that a grassroots voter registration effort played in getting out the "No" vote. Larraín defended the film as art rather than documentary, saying that "a movie is not a testament. It’s just the way we looked at it."
In another criticism, a Chilean political science professor asked if one should really celebrate the moment that political activism turned into marketing, rather than a discussion of principles.

Accolades

When screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, No won the Art Cinema Award, the top prize in the Directors' Fortnight section. In September 2012, it was selected as Chile's bid for the Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards. In December 2012 it made the January shortlist and was nominated on 10 January 2013. At the 2012 Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Bernal won the award for Best Actor.