No (I) (2012)

An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.

Director:

Pablo Larraín

Writers:

Pedro Peirano (screenplay), Antonio Skármeta (play)

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Luis Gnecco

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gael García Bernal	...	René Saavedra
Alfredo Castro	...	Lucho Guzmán
Luis Gnecco	...	José Tomás Urrutia
Néstor Cantillana	...	Fernando
Antonia Zegers	...	Verónica Carvajal
Marcial Tagle	...	Alberto Arancibia
Pascal Montero	...	Simón Saavedra
Jaime Vadell	...	Minister Fernández
Elsa Poblete	...	Carmen
Diego Muñoz	...	Carlos
Roberto Farías	...	Marcelo
Sergio Hernández	...	Militar
Manuela Oyarzún	...	Sandra
Paloma Moreno	...	Fran
César Caillet	...	Cliente

Storyline

Military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power in 1988, the leaders of the opposition persuade a young daring advertising executive - René Saavedra - to head their campaign. With limited resources and under the constant scrutiny of the despot's watchmen, Saavedra and his team conceive of a bold plan to win the election and free their country from oppression.

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Plot Keywords:

campaign | referendum | intimidation | chile | political repression | 

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Taglines:

Adiós, Mr. Pinochet.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Chile USA France Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

9 August 2012 (Chile)

Also Known As:

No - I giorni dell'arcobaleno

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$71,742 (USA) (15 February 2013)

Gross:

$2,276,226 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fabula, Participant Media, Funny Balloons

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character René Saavedra, played by Gael García Bernal, is loosely based on Eugenio García.

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Connections

References Bellas y audaces (1988)

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Soundtracks

"No lo quiero"
Written by Isabel Parra
Performed by Isabel Parra, Cristina Parra, Javiera Parra, Milena Rojas, Cecilia Echeñique and Tati Penna.

User Reviews

a nostalgic celebration of a defining moment in a small country's big history

Pablo Larrain's "No" has been short listed for the academy award for best foreign language film, though I completely forgot about this as I was drawn in by the story, once the lights were back on and I started going over the film in my head, I was - though pleasantly - very surprised by the academy's decision. Intermitted with the somewhat weak personal story of Rene with his son and ex-wife, a large part of the movie plays out in a celebratory tone as a trip down memory lane extravaganza for the Chilean collective conscious.

Now I don't mean to say people not from Chile will not be able to enjoy this film, but starting in the first minutes with the commercial for FREE COLA to the part where they actually had now 94 year old ex President Aylwin in a cameo role that made me and my family jump up and scream "was that really him?" so much of the meat of this movie lies in its faithful reproduction of a sometimes uncomfortably near past for us Chileans.

This being said, audiences of all nations and sizes will be able to appreciate the mature and paced unraveling of this most unexpected work of cinema. The film does not seek to tackle the big unresolved conflicts of our long decades of dictatorship and the questionable transition to democracy (and this is perhaps appropriate given the history and context of the film director himself) but rather tells a story of an ad man and how he put in his two cents in a time of changing institutions and a time when a suddenly modern Chile was looking with optimism to a new millennium.