No (2013)

As a person, who actually was very actively fighting against Pinochet's dictatorship - _far from abroad_ and that means from Sweden - this movie made it all alive again. All the feelings, all the people I met during and afterwards, all the stories, all the songs, all the poetry...made me cry once again. Above all - the stories that I never heard - from the ones who stayed and tried to survive during the dictatorship of Pinochet, is a reminder for me and all the world: "This is God speaking. I have a new competition: Can you beat your KARMA? Can you change something?" ......

This is the essence of cinema. The story is really involving and the director uses the best tools to show it in a theater.What is more, at the beginning I was thinking this movie is naive, but the last two scenes makes it something even similar to Orwell books.It is also really important because at the general stage it a movie about the reasons which drives people to do something. We usually think that some easy slogans like "freedom" are the ones we should fight for. But this movie shows they are only slogans... Great movie to discuss. Makes you think about the mechanisms of getting power.

I had not even heard of this movie prior to being invited to a screening of it tonight. Therefore, I watched this film expecting nothing but a decent night out at the cinema. This film certainly was not horrible. At no point did I feel like walking out, but I did not feel all that engaged either. I am sure this is a great film for people who live in Chile and are familiar with what was going on and are nostalgic for this event, but to me it was just a very dry, very bland, basic film which was shot in a way which made it feel like a documentary you watch in grade school. You're happy that you're seeing a film instead of doing schoolwork, but it's really nothing exciting. There were a few moments where I let out a chuckle or two, but this was mainly during the subplots which really didn't ever connect to the story. Why focus so much on his marketing experience? Why focus so much on his (lack of a) love life? I never felt interested in his job, never felt it was important, and never could understand what was going on in that relationship. The actress that played his (ex?)-wife changed her attitude and emotional level to him constantly. I'm not sure if this was a result of bad acting, or bad writing. "Don't get any ideas." two seconds later, she's trying to make out with him. Would I recommend this movie? No. If you've been dying to see it I won't stop you from doing so, but if you've just randomly heard of it as I had, I wouldn't suggest it.

"No" is is a tense and riveting drama about Chile's dictator Pinochet in the late 1980s. It did remind me of "Argo", its true story, tight plot and seamless weaving in of history. And even though we know the ending, it's a nerve-racking journey nonetheless. I thought they kept the scenes at a perfect length, with some dialogue seamlessly continuing even though the characters move from one place to the next. "No" has a a bit of a broader feel than "Argo", a wider cast of emotions and characters on the ground, more content and a reminder at the end that no matter the outcome of the referendum on Chile's president, many many memories and ramifications loom ahead. The Academy Award nominee "No" will help you appreciate the power of good filmmaking.