"Sly and smart. Weirdly funny and rousing, both intellectually and emotionally." - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“Grade A. Extraordinarily well-made, superbly acted, funny, human, warm, principled and, yes, as enthrallingly entertaining as it is fiercely moral and intelligent." - James Rocchi, IndieWire
"A terrific film about advertising, politics and the human desire...extremely sharp and sharp-witted." - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
In 1988, Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet took the remarkable step of holding a national plebiscite to determine whether he would remain in power as an elected official. Shot in the U-matic video format of the era, NO dramatizes how advertising creatives helped design a national campaign to convince Chileans to vote Pinochet out, reframing the negative vote in the most optimistic possible terms. René Saavedra, played by Gael García Bernal, is a composite of several real people. Director Pablo Larraín takes seriously the possibility that, even though the general was ousted, the neoliberal economy he ushered in would remain.
Awards & Nominations
2012 Cannes Film Festival - Winner, C.I.C.A.E. Award
2012 São Paulo International Film Festival - Winner, Best Foreign Feature Film (Audience Award)
2013 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film
Contact Zones: Cinema of Globalization, 1989–2024
Fall 2026 Lecture Series
“We might have come to the end of something,” Adam Curtis reflected recently, referring to "globalization," which began with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But just how well do we know this world that we were, until recently, living in? Brief lectures before screenings and open discussions afterwards will cover background on local histories related to films in the series as well as theories of globalization, neoliberalism, migration, and digital culture. Presented in collaboration with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism. Lecturer: Professor Daniel R. Quiles. Select titles offered with Sunday encores; encores do not include lecture.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu