The Case for Saying Yes to No

It’s a very simple title for a movie: No.

But the film itself is anything but.

The ever cute Gael Garcia Bernal plays Rene Saavedra, an advertising guru who is hired by the “No” campaign in the lead up to the Chilean referendum whether they should continue with Augusto Pinochet as their President (the “Yes” vote).  The alternative is for Chileans to opt “No” and return to the days of uncertainty and turmoil prior to the days when Pinochet shot former President Allende and assumed control of the country.

Considering Pinochet’s rule was rife with disappearances and executions, the leaders of the “No” movement, and those associated with them, are understandably nervous about the whole enterprise, and from the outset are dubious that Pinochet will allow anything other than a “Yes” outcome.  But while the West supported the coup in the beginning, the international climate has changed, and so, as much as Pinochet and his supporters don’t want to do it, the referendum has to take place.  Each side gets 15 minutes a night to make their case and, in the case of the “No” camp, to try and persuade those afraid of the government and the police to actually go out and vote against them.

Pinochet’s campaign platform is simple: his rule has brought stability and wealth to the country (if not necessarily all its citizens), and probably the highest standards of living in Latin America.  While Pinochet says he supports democracy, equal rights and votes for all smacks of communism – something the General cannot abide.  

The opposition’s view is a bit more fractured, focusing on the torturing and repression of the regime.  Sure, city folk have new cars and beautiful clothes and all the modern conveniences, but dissent from the government line is not tolerated.  For Saavedra though, the idea is not to focus on the bad that Pinochet has wrought, but to focus on the positives that true democracy will bring.

In one of the most intense scenes in the film (sorry to recap the whole story) is where Saavedra pitches his “Happiness is Coming” campaign to the group and one man, who has lost most of his family to Pinochet either through disappearances or executions or exile, reacts with outrage, feeling the light happy exercise completely undermines the pain and suffering inflicted on dissidents over the years.  He walks out shortly thereafter, and it was hard not to feel his anger too.  But, at the same time, and in time, Saevedra’s vision, of a positive and (occasionally) light hearted approach to what is actually an incredibly serious and important decision makes a huge amount of sense, engaging those who might otherwise feel too overwhelmed by the injustices Pinochet has wrought.

The battle then is on – whose campaign will win?  And what lengths will each side go to for victory? 

After a slow and occasionally muddled start, it is a tense journey to the end.  Filmed in a very 80s style in square format and with poor (by these days) film stock, it takes a little while for the strange jumps and cuts to stop, and for the viewer to get used to  the blurry images and washed out colours.  But keeping to period means that the film effortlessly adds real footage from the era into critical scenes, which is a brilliant way to show the real history amongst the acting.

The characters themselves are all fairly good, though it’s the story that is the most compelling piece here.  Not compelling enough for more than a dozen people to attend the screening at the Paramount (though the fact it is in Spanish might have put people off too), but for me, it was great.

Verdict: No is modern history retold in a interesting and mostly successful way.  Having wandered the streets of Santiago and seen the memorials to Allende and the dead and missing during Pinochet’s rule, it probably had an extra impact on me.  But the film shows the power of the media to influence (and coerce) people to make a change for the better (with the help of Christopher Reeve and Jane Fonda of course), and that some revolutions can be peaceful too.  7 rainbows out of 10.