Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal) loves his job. An advertising executive in Chile, he's indistinguishable from many Americans in his infatuation with flash over substance - as evidenced by the commercials he so gleefully creates. But Rene would argue that substance is secondary to his mission: getting people to buy what he's selling.
Rene's talents are of great interest to a political party that opposes President Augusto Pinochet, a dictator who has no problem with throwing dissidents into prison. But it's 1988, and his rule could be coming to an end. Pinochet faces a referendum in which the nation will be asked to render a "No" or "Yes" vote on whether he remains in office - and that's where Rene comes in.
Approaching the "No" campaign as just another product, Rene argues that getting bogged down in the specifics of political repression would be a losing strategy. Instead, he appeals to Chileans' emotions. What the people really want, he reasons, is not an end to the terrors of the Pinochet regime. What they want is happiness. And night after night, through jazzy TV ads, he drives that message home.
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The Oscar-nominated "No" has the gritty feel of a foreign film from the 1970s. As such, it may take a few minutes for most moviegoers to adjust to its rhythms. Ironically for a film about advertising, there's nothing slick about it - and therein lies much of its greatness.
Working from a screenplay by Pedro Peirano, director Pablo Larrain brings a semi-documentary immediacy to the proceedings, benefited in no small part by Bernal's quietly intense performance. Perhaps best known for his roles in "Babel" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien," Bernal is wholly believable as a man who sticks to his convictions no matter what.
"No" is filmmaking of the first order.
Review
"No"
*** 1/2
• Rated: R for language, political violence. In Spanish with English subtitles.
• Director: Pablo Larrain.
• Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Calvin Wilson.
• Running time: 110 minutes.
