Skip to main content

No


What if you could stomp on your stronger, meaner, better-financed opponents with a smart ad campaign? No, Im not talking about the Oscars. Im talking about No, a stinging, brutally funny satire of modern politics from Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain that ads up to lesson on how to defeat a despot with a Smile button. Ad exec Rene Saavedra (Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal is stellar) is thrown when his boss Lucho (Alfredo Castro) hands him the unenviable assignment of taking on Gen. Augusto Pinchot, whose iron hand crushed every democratic impulse out of Chile. From 1973, when the CIA goosed him into power, until his ouster a quarter century later, Pinochet supervised a reign of terror, abductions and assassinations. Rene, the son of a Chilean dissident who was exiled by Pinochet, is tasked with developing an ad campaign to rouse the people to vote no against Pinochet in a 1988 plebiscite. Good luck with that. Pinochet has powerful backup. Veronica, (Antonia Zegers), Renes activist former wife and mother of their son Simon (Pascal Montero), warns her ex that hes fighting a dangerous uphill battle. But Rene is a Latin-American Don Draper. He develops a cheesy, upbeat campaign that plays like a soda commercial. At first everyone laughs. Then the campaign catches on. No laughs. Just victory. Based on a play by Chilean journalist Antonio Skrmeta, No with tight, fluid script by Pedro Peirano is guilty of oversimplification. The issues came down to more than ad campaigns. Larrain shoots the whole film on low-res video to match up new footage with the original commercials. Nice touch. And his focus on the marketing of politics is as timely as the next election. Larrain, the son of Pinochet supporters, is adept at skewering hypocrisy on the right and the left with equal brio, as he did in the first two potent first chapters of his Chile trilogy (Tony Manero, Post Mortem). Nominated by the Academy as the years best foreign-language film, No grabs you hard, no mercy, and keeps you riveted.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Appreciation

Is there anything more mysterious in theworld than the formula to having a successful romantic relationship? Asa divorced woman, I now marvel at those who are able to createpassionate, loving, long-term relationships. From my studies with booksand the school of hard knocks, I believe that one of the most importantingredients in relationships, of all kinds, is appreciation. What is Appreciation? Appreciation is likea much-needed rainfall to a farmer's crops that have been withering ina drought. Just as the crops start to shrivel and die without water,human relationships also start to feel brittle without a steadyapplication of the nourishing, even life-giving, impacts ofappreciation. The dictionary defines appreciation as "a favorablecritical estimate," "sensitive awareness" and "an expression ofadmiration, approval or gratitude." When you appreciate someone, youare tuned into a positive quality of another human being and expressyour gratitude for it. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Corporate ERP on Dynamics AX Deployment with Hub and Spokes Architecture

In certain business development scenarios you, as IT director of mid-market company have to respect existing structure and plan the evolution. This is especially true when your company expands in the way of acquisitions. Additional complication might be attributed to international business model, where you are acquiring established enterprise in the foreign country. In this small paper we would like to come through some popular theories and recommendations, where we suppose that you have Dynamics AX or formerly known as Axapta in your headquarters. If you are in Corporate ERP selection mode, we recommend you to consider AX in the case, when your policy is leaning toward Microsoft Dynamics products and technologies: 1.Why AX? First of all this ERP and MRP platform is recommended by Microsoft for the implementations in such industries as meat, fish and sea products, poultry, mining and oil drilling, distribution and logistics and with new version 2012 in public sector (GL fund managemen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Attic Fans

Attic and roof ventilation allows excess heat and moisture to escape at home to reduce summer cooling costs, pre-mature deterioration of roofing materials and condensation can lead to costly repairs. Effective attic ventilation relies on natural convection to pull air from the top to the bottom position, often in the open in Sofia, and the exhaust hot air from the ceiling vent in a higher position, such as through a gable, or open. Many new and existing homes are not ceilings, and its architecture can not afford soffits perforations for ventilation. While most households are conscious on the convenience brought by nicely ventilated homes, many tend to overlook the attic as one of the areas to be considered. No one finds it comfortable staying for long hours in the closed attic because of the overwhelming heat that builds up in it. For this reason, it is necessary for everyone to consider installing attic ventilation fans in order to cool down the attic's heat. This can have amazin...
Post a Comment
Read more