No (2012/I)

Director:

Pablo Larraín

Writers:

Antonio Skármeta (play)
Pedro Peirano (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 August 2012 (Chile)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Adiós, Mr. Pinochet.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Campaign | Referendum | Intimidation | Chile | Political Repression

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
Pablo Krögh	...	Director de campaña
Patricio Achurra	...	Político
Amparo Noguera	...	Socióloga
Alejandro Goic	...	Ricardo
Carlos Cabezas	...	Ponce
Claudia Cabezas	...	Joven Revolucionaria
Paulo Brunetti	...	Publicista Campaña Sí
Iñigo Urrutia	...	Coreógrafo
Pedro Peirano	...	Joven Comando No
Patricio Aylwin	...	Himself
Eugenio Tironi	...	Himself
Juan Forch	...	Himself
Eugenio García	...	Himself
Juan Gabriel Valdés	...	Himself
Jaime de Aguirre	...	Himself
Florcita Motuda	...	Himself
Patricio Bañados	...	Himself
Osvaldo Silva	...	Himself
Carmen María Pascal	...	Herself
María Teresa Bacigalupe	...	Herself
Cecilia Echeñique	...	Herself
Tati Pena	...	Herself
Javiera Parra	...	Herself
Isabel Parra	...	Herself
Cristina Parra	...	Herself
Milena Rojas	...	Herself
Carlos Caszely	...	Himself
Gabriela Medina	...	Herself
Malucha Pinto	...	Herself
Maitén Montenegro	...	Herself
Jorge Yáñez	...	Himself
Claudio Narea	...	Himself
Marco Antonio de la Parra	...	Himself
Ana María Gazmuri	...	Herself
Marcela Medel	...	Herself
Reinaldo Vallejo	...	Himself
Claudio Guzmán	...	Himself
Consuelo Holzapfel	...	Herself
Maricarmen Arrigorriaga	...	Herself
Shlomit Baytelman	...	Herself
Delfina Guzmán	...	Herself
María Elena Duvauchelle	...	Herself
Julio Jung	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Augusto Pinochet	...	Himself (archive footage)
César Arredondo	...	Himself (uncredited)
Pablo Ausensi	...	Empresario (uncredited)
Andrés Gómez	...	Camarógrafo (uncredited)
Alex G. Hofmann	...	Político (uncredited)
Hugo Vásquez	...	Participante campaña No (uncredited)

Directed by
Pablo Larraín

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Pedro Peirano		screenplay
Antonio Skármeta		play written

Produced by
Daniel Marc Dreifuss	....	producer
Jonathan King	....	executive producer
Juan de Dios Larraín	....	producer
Pablo Larraín	....	producer

Original Music by
Carlos Cabezas

Cinematography by
Sergio Armstrong

Film Editing by
Andrea Chignoli

Art Direction by
Estefania Larrain

Set Decoration by
María Eugenia Hederra

Production Management
Eduardo Castro	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gabriel Díaz	....	second unit director

Art Department
Zimon Briceno	....	second assistant set decorator
Zimon Briceno	....	second assistant set dresser
María Eugenia Hederra	....	set dresser
Angela Torti	....	first assistant set decorator
Angela Torti	....	first assistant set dresser

Sound Department
Sebastian Marin	....	foley recordist
Sebastian Marin	....	sound effects editor
Ivo Moraga	....	foley artist
Isaac Moreno	....	boom operator
Roberto Zuñiga	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Ismael Cabrera	....	colorist
Ismael Cabrera	....	visual effects supervisor
Rodrigo Rojas Echaiz	....	visual effects

Stunts
Wernher Schurmann	....	fight choreographer
Wernher Schurmann	....	stunt coordinator
Jorge Vergara	....	assistant fight coordinator
Jorge Vergara	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Jorge Vergara	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Carlos Diaz	....	video assist
Juan Millán	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Javier Estévez	....	additional editor
Catalina Marín Duarte	....	additional editor

Other crew
Cameron Arguelles	....	quality control
Martin Bohte	....	post -production assistant
Cristian Echeverria	....	post production head
Nicolás Ibieta	....	post production adviser
Alejandro Wise	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Fabula
• Participant Media (producer)
• Funny Balloons (Co-Production)
• Canana Films (co-production)

Distributors

• Bolero Film (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2013) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Magyarhangya (2012) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Network Releasing (2013) (UK) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2012) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• StraDa Films (2013) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Distribution (2013) (France) (theatrical)
• Alambique Destilaria de Ideias Unipessoal (2013) (Portugal) (all media)
• Golem Distribución (2013) (Spain) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2012) (Australia) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2012) (New Zealand) (all media)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Chile | USA | France | Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Switzerland:14 | Hong Kong:IIB | Denmark:11

Company:

Fabula

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 85th Oscars (2013) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Vuelvo

Passion seeps through every frame, culminating in a mood most aptly expressed by Tchaikovsky's valse sentimentale

Preceded by Tony Manero and Post Mortem, No completes Pablo Larrain's loose trilogy about life under Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. Albeit conceived in strong historical and socio-political context; this story is a simple tale centered on young advertising executive, René Saavedra (portrayed with flair by enigmatic chameleon, Gael García Bernal) — thus making the film accessible to a wide range of foreign viewers.

The time is 1988 and Pinochet has been in power since 1973. In a calculated move to mitigate external pressure against his ironfisted regime, Pinochet confidently initiates a national referendum calling on citizens to vote and decide, whether an eight-year extension into 1996 is valid. The probabilities of course, are carefully measured and his likelihood of winning is rock solid.

In this heartfelt homage to Chilean history, both sides are attempting to secure voters by fighting it out via 30-minute spots on TV — 15- minutes for the "Yes" camp and 15-minutes for "No".

An agency that employs René has been commissioned to design a series of ads for the Government of Junta; with bossman Luis Guzmán (Alfredo Castro) helping Pinochet. Conflicts of interest arise when René exercises his liberty as a freelancer in contra — to formulate the opposition's campaign.

Story begins with a cold open showing creative grit — René is previewing a new commercial with clients in the beverage industry. Within the first few minutes, we find out who he really is — a shrewd and introspective creative director, highly sought after in the business, bit of a rebel in the vein of Don Draper — someone who believes in unorthodox methods and selling the notion of freedom.

A sudden visit from opposition manager José Tomás Urrutia, interrupts his meeting with the clients. In conversations between René and José interfused with a dinner scene between René and his boss, Luis — we drift through a climate of skepticism surrounding the legitimacy of Pinochet's reign, residual fears evolved from the red scare, and reservations about United States after their alleged involvement in the Chilean Coup of 1973. Accusations and recriminations are spewed in hushed, civil tones. Disparity in views (as they are in life) are documented in raw, unfiltered strides.

In a sequence depicting René's journey home on a skateboard, audacious visual-aural symphony amplifies his transformation, and the situation about to unfold. A representative of young blood, it is here that Larrain's spunky protagonist displays progressive streak coursing through his veins, thus establishing an emotional, life-affirming choice provoked by his earlier exchange with Luis.

The film charts two narrative blueprints juxtaposed next to each other: the No campaign from inception to post-referendum, and how it is inextricably linked to René's democratic ideology. Against the backdrop of fierce competition between both camps, his middle-class existence as a single father still harboring feelings for the ex-wife comes into close, thematic focus.

When public opinion becomes cultural movement and things begin to swing in favor of No's provocative campaign; hinting at political activism cleverly cloaked in neutral concepts such as love, happiness and freedom, Pinochet's lackeys begin a series of menacing threats that hover in dangerous, unpredictable shadows. Shot with an aspect ratio of 4:3 using analogue tape; the format also implies a cautionary facet to this film — concerned with lasting effects created by commercials in the heydays of TV, suggesting how a simple medium and viral marketing can radically influence political views of the masses, creating landslide victories for the underdog.

Things comes to a hauntingly ironic conclusion, that much is obvious, but No is a tremendously simple film that burns with quiet ferocity. Pablo Larrain displays talent in using visual moods, incisive dialog and dramatic scores; giving shape to the social atmosphere in 1980s Chile — rife with unquenchable thirst for liberty and change, yet pensive and scarred by a violent past.

Although punctuated with flashes of humor and scathing wit, this Oscar nominee in foreign language category is an intense historical drama that works on a deeper level by finding resonance with universal emotions. Passion seeps through every frame, culminating in a mood most aptly expressed by Tchaikovsky's valse sentimentale.

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