Film Review: No (15) (Chile/France/U.S.A. 2012) (Spanish with English Subtitles) (Director: Pablo Larrain) Tuesday 12.02.2013 20:45 The Cameo Cinema Screen Two, Edinburgh 

This is a film about a plebiscite held in 1988 in Chile for the military junta to try to legitimise it's rule. The electorate had two potential answers to give. Yes, to more rules of military role, or No, to refuse them the rite and force a transition to democracy. Each campaign for Yes and No had there own daily 15 minute slot on state television to get their message across. The film tells a story of the No campaign, led by the advertising worker played by Gael Garcia Bernal. The film is well told and acted, and again one of these films where you know what the ultimate outcome was, though not necessarily what happened to individuals involved. There is a sense of genuine threat to the portrayed family of Gael Garcia's character, as the junta get more and more desperate to try to cling onto power.

The film was shot on U-Matic Videotape giving a genuine 1980's look to the image on the screen. Although this assisted with anchoring the film in the time of it's setting, it could not always handle the bright light and was showing burn out in the image. Overall I don't think the film used really added anything, and it could have easily been portrayed well on modern film stock.

The film was not outstanding, though was a very engaging film to watch. It showed well the details of how such conflicts can affect the everyday lives of families and is well rooted in a sense of community as opposed to, for example, concentrating on the armed forces. It felt rewarding and enlightening.

Rating: 8/10.