A Big Yes to "No"

There has been quite a bit of controversy about the Chilean film "No," one of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film in the most recent Oscar race. Some have compared it to "Argo," for simplifying historical events, leaving out important details, and giving too much credit to one individual working in a very large, complex campaign. "No" captures the events of 1988, when Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is pressured into allowing a plebiscite, a nationwide vote on whether he is to remain the leader of the nation after fourteen years of tyranny. Both Yes and No supporters are given fifteen minutes of airtime to present their case on national television every night for a month. The No campaign, aiming to oust Pinochet and restore democracy, is initially viewed as hopeless. However, a change in tactics orchestrated by advertising guru René Saavedra (Gael García Bernal) helps to turn the plebiscite into a real race.

It's understandable why some have taken offense to the notion that a couple of ad men, with their rainbow logos, catchy jingles, and bodaciously 80s TV commercials were instrumental in mobilizing the opposition against Pinochet. Director Pablo Larraín insists that "No" captures the spirit of that moment in history, and I'm inclined to agree with him. Though it could have used more context, what we have here is clearly the story of one man operating on one front of a larger struggle that was going on long before he got involved. Saavedra is young and forward looking, viewed as something of an outsider since he spent much of his life exiled in Mexico. When he argues that the No campaign should be more positive and fun, he has to contend with members of the opposition who think he's trying to downplay Pinochet's atrocities and silence his victims. Saavedra is also constantly clashing with campaign leader José Tomás Urrutia (Luis Gnecco) and his own creative team. Meanwhile, his boss at the ad agency, Lucho Guzmán (Alfredo Castro), is secretly working on the Yes campaign, and actively undermining the No campaigns's efforts. At home, Saavedra worries about the welfare of his young son, Simón (Pascal Montero). And then there's Saavedra's ex-wife Verónica (Antonia Zegers), a political activist and the harshest critic of his work.

I know next to nothing about Chile or its history or politics, but I didn't need to. This is an immensely fun and entertaining underdog story with an irresistable hook, plenty of thrills, and a feel-good happy ending. Yes, it's about a political campaign, but "No" is very good about setting the stage, using the propaganda clips and the characters' behavior to bring the unfamiliar viewer up to speed, not just on the politics, but on the mood of the country. We see people going to great lengths to maintain the secrecy of their involvement with the No campaign, long before we fully understand why such measures are necessary. The movie has a tendency to idealize Saavedra, and some incidents are clearly invented, but it also shows his faults and backgrounds him when it's appropriate. There's no time to give everyone the credit they deserve, but many different groups of people and their various viewpoints are represented in some way. I especially appreciated the strong presence of Verónica, who does not hesitate to accuse our hero of legitimizing a farce when she learns what he is planning to do. Antonia Zegers and Gael García Bernal deliver strong performances, and the scenes of them together are highlights.

I love the look of "No," which uses a lot of documentary footage and significant parts of the actual Yes and No campaign broadcasts. Larraín designed everything else in the movie to match, giving the move an appealing period look with a retro, low-tech aesthetic. And then he shot it all on Betacam to make it look even more like the 80s. Even the opening credits and title are slightly misaligned to make it seem like you're initially watching the movie on an old cathode ray television. Since the film is about a television ad campaign, the act of television viewing becomes important. Larrain includes many shots of people watching and discussing what they see on television, and many vital scenes simply place the audience in front of the small screen, so that the audience can watch the news or the final versions of the No campaign commercials right along with the Chileans. There are a couple of nice transitions that jump from a scene of something being filmed to the finished product being broadcast.

Would I call "No" the definitive movie about the end of Pinochet's regime? Certainly not, but it's a good starting point and provides a lot of juicy material for discussion and debate. The comparisons to "Argo" are very apt, not only because "No" plays fast and loose with history in some problematic ways, but because it is a fully engaging, intelligent, and satisfying movie. And Gael García Bernal is a considerably better actor than Ben Affleck, so I think it's actually better than "Argo" by a good margin.
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