“No” and No

Abstract

This article sheds light on the process of the unprecedented “No” campaign of 1988 in Chile, whereby Augusto Pinochet was ousted by a simple yes/no referendum, thus ending his more than fifteen years in power. Pablo Larraín's 2012 film No takes this historical event as the basis for its fiction and dramatizes the feat of the creative team, with film star Gael García Bernal as the lead. While the film has enjoyed international success, it has also been criticized for its one-dimensional portrayal. The film serves as a surface-level introduction to the campaign, but its focus on publicity agents leaves many key figures out of the picture. With a brief film synopsis set against information about the much more complex historical reality, the article's intention is to show a more complete picture of the opposition's victory, indicating what is omitted from Larraín's film while highlighting conflicts in the drama that ring true to history.