No (2013)

Revolution without a drop of blood: `Chile: happiness is coming!'
The close examination of the 1988 referendum campaign called for by Chile's military dictator Augusto Pinochet provides not only a fascinating peak inside politics, but it also is a true story of how the Chilean people successfully staged a bloodless revolution to free themselves from the power of a dictator. Based on fact as depicted in a play written by Antonio Skármeta, molded into a screenplay by Pedro Peirano,and directed with a keen sense of period by Pablo Larraín, the film uses substantial bits of archival film footage that enhances the impact of this moment in history.

NO is the story of the advertising campaign surrounding the 1988 referendum that was supposed to `elect' General Pinochet to another eight years of dictatorship in Chile. The referendum campaign will last 27 days leading up to the October 5, 1988 vote, with each side getting fifteen minutes of uninterrupted television air time each day for their campaign. The "no" coalition decides to...

Jarring and Stirring
"No" in its first minute is a jarring visual experience. It's grainy and shaky, as though it were a youtube video blown onto the screen, and it's only well into the movie when we realize that the visuals are meant to evoke the visuals of late 1980s Chilean television so that actual television footage from that era could match seamlessly with the rest of the film. Once we overcome this psychological hurdle we come to appreciate "No" as a moving and stirring tale.

It's 1988, and Pinochet's military dictatorship of Chile has endured for fifteen years. Facing growing international pressure (namely, US pressure), the dictator decides to hold a referendum whether to extend his rule by another 8 years. It seems to the majority of those most opposed to him (40 percent of Chileans live below the poverty line, and there are tens of thousands of political dissidents either killed, exiled, or disappeared) that the referendum is just a sham, and they are determined to ignore it...

3 1/2 stars (BLU RAY) for a documentary style historic drama
Filmed in a documentary-style and set when the events took place in 1988, "No" is an unusual film. The title comes from a plebiscite called for in Chile to determine if dictator General Augusto Pinochet would continue his ruthless reign of 8 years. A "yes" vote would continue his rule. A "no" would not. Pinochet had accepted the vote at the urging of the world community. He was not worried about the outcome, until it was too late.

The film is about the advertising campaign created to get out the mostly hidden populace who would be expected to vote "no." Pinochet's regime had agreed to telecast 15 minute ads each night. One for the "yes" and one for the "no." Political opposition had never had this opportunity but they were divided into various factions, each with their own agenda. Most wanted to expose the criminal behavior of the dictator.

Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal) is recruited from a top advertising agency to work for the "no" campaign. He...

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