No, by Pablo Larraín: summary and analysis of the film

The movie Not by Pablo Larraín tells the story of the 1988 Chilean plebiscite that could end the militarist dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

In that plebiscite, the Chilean people had two options: vote yes to extend the term of the government's sole candidate, or vote no to call democratic elections.

Contrary to what may seem, rather than merely focusing on the political intricacies of that episode, the film has as its point of view the development of the propaganda campaign by he does not. In other words, he focused on the ways Chilean society found to overcome the fear sown in 15 years of authoritarian rule.

Resume

The movie Not It is part of the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet who, in 1988, gave in to international pressure that questioned the legitimacy of the military government and called for a plebiscite.

Pinochet is encouraged to do so, sure of having an indisputable advantage on the basis of three arguments: the rebound in the Chilean economy, the apparent security gained in the dictatorship and fear of the left radical.

The first reaction of the Chilean opposition is to reject the call and consider abstention. But the negotiations result in an agreement of minimum conditions that may represent at least a small opportunity for opponents.

The government guarantees 15 minutes of television time per day (at night) for one month. At that time, both options must present their campaigns. This is the only space the opposition has to do something about it.

Faced with such adverse circumstances, the opposition decides to seek the advice of expert publicists. This is how René Saavedra (Gael García Bernal) enters the scene. A Christian Democrat politician named José Tomás Urrutia (Luis Gnecco) tries to persuade Saavedra to lead the campaign for the NO. Urrutia invokes the memory of Saavedra's father, his personal friend, who lived in exile in Mexico with the young man.

Since Saavedra had returned to Chile, he worked as a publicist alongside Luis "Lucho" Guzmán (Alfredo Castro) in an advertising agency. Lucho fears Urrutia's proposal, and tries to make Saavedra see that he is unnecessarily risking the stability and economic well-being that he has gained by not getting involved in political affairs. However, Saavedra accepts the challenge for the NO while Luis Guzmán assumes the leadership of the campaign for the YES.

The campaign for the NO

For Saavedra, NO should be shown as a step to joy, an opportunity for a possible future, and not from a critical approach about the past or present of an unequal Chile. In other words, Saavedra applies the same criteria in the political campaign for the sale of a consumer product, but in a totally innovative context.

The controversy does not wait. Traditional politicians do not welcome the proposal, as they feel it trivializes the importance of the pain and fear suffered during the regime. But Saavedra does not give in to the arguments. The mother of Saavedra's son, on her part, remains attached to the abstentionist option, since she believes that the elections validate the authoritarianism of the regime.

Thus, the campaign almost seems to promote a soft drink. Saavedra finally presents the slogan: "Chile, joy is coming" and sent to compose a jingle instead of a hymn. It also proposes the use of a rainbow whose colors represent the tendencies of the 17 opposition parties.

Saavedra begins to be the victim of acts of intimidation in his own home. Urrutia interprets the aggression as a desperate government action and persuades the young man to move on, because as long as the eyes of the world are on Chile, they cannot do anything to them.

During the campaign, the differences become apparent: while the government relies on fear of losing the gains it has made, the opposition displays cheerful and lively hope. The enraged government counterattacks by criticizing the NO campaign.

The last broadcast of the NO campaign was supported by international artists such as Jane Fonda, Christopher Reeves and Richard Dreyfuss.

On the day of the voting, the tension could not be greater. Everything seemed to indicate that there would be fraud from the government. However, at the end of the day, the military left Pinochet alone and forced him to acknowledge the triumph of the opposition. Saavedra goes out into the street with his son to observe the joy that is breathed in a free Chile. Then he will finally return to his normal life.

Analysis

Pablo Larraín decided to shoot this film with a 1983 UMATIC video camera to give it a greater sense of historical and documentary proximity to the story. This also made the documentary material and that of fiction not so easily distinguished, increasing the feeling of verisimilitude. Some movie critics call this a "vintage aesthetic."

The film aroused dormant controversies in the environment and made the problem known to the children of the following generations from a very particular perspective. For some, it was a cynical film, showing the transition to democracy in Chile as the result of a mere marketing strategy, from which it is very difficult to believe in a real transformation politics.

Those who think so are based on the character of Saavedra, who sometimes seems more concerned with achieving a job triumph than with social transformation. But can this really be seen like this?

The controversy around Not

The controversy unleashed turns more on the historical phenomenon than on the film itself. In other words, the controversy centers on the real consequences of the NO option. If the dictator Pinochet died free, without trial and rich, what democracy would he really be talking about? If the NO did not do justice to a violent and unjust past, could it be more than just marketing?

The film suggestively confronts us with the question about this phenomenon. If, on the one hand, Larraín shows that there may be a civilian alternative to a military conflict, as long as there is intelligence and audacity, on the other hand invites us to reflect on the ways of promoting and facing politics in the world, and on the real commitment in the face of the consequences of an action determined.

The campaign for the plebiscite in any of its options is, in one way or another, a media war. If anything goes in war, Saavedra's strategy is not questionable. What is certain is that the question about the impact of the media on public opinion cannot be dismissed under any circumstances.

Faced with a campaign of fear spread by real and concrete acts of oppression and social control, the symbolic discourse was the discovered way to build a peaceful alternative. Before those who saw in the Saavedra campaign a trivialization of the needs of the Chilean people, it would be necessary to ask: Was it the responsibility of the authors of the campaign that the opposition was not consistent with the demands of Justice?

This film revives the symbolic force of a referential phenomenon in Latin America. In the middle of a region that, as a consequence of social frustration, is eventually seduced by authoritarian discourses of the left and right of all kinds, Larraín's account once again recalls that there is a weapon other than force and widely effective: the courage of civil society organized.

Pablo Larrain

Pablo Larraín is a Chilean film director born in 1976 in the city of Santiago. He studied audiovisual communication at the University of Arts, Sciences and Communication. The movie Not that gave him great projection is his fourth feature film, and was preceded by the films Leakage, Tony Manero Y Post Morten.

He has also worked as a producer of viodeclips and an opera stage director. He has attracted the attention of the international film market since the feature film in question was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film.

Since then, he has directed films such as Neruda (nominated for the Golden Globes) and Jackiestarring Natalie Portman and nominated for 3 Academy Awards. He also directed the movie The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, starring Tom Hardy.

Data sheet

Original title: Not
Direction: Pablo Larraín
Country: France, USA, Chile
Year 2012
Duration: 118 min
Genre: Drama, Historical
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Néstor Cantillana, Augusto Pinochet, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco, Alejandro Goic, Marcial Tagle, Jaime Vadell, Manuela Oyarzín
Script: Pedro Peirano
Distributor: Golem Distribución
Production Company: Canana Films, Participant Media, Fabula, Funny Balloons