No 2012

This was surprisingly compelling. It follows the campaign to vote "No" on the 1988 referendum in Chile that would have allowed Augusto Pinochet to continue in office. I liked it a lot more than I expected to. It's shot in a unique technical style, making it look like it could have been made with 1980s technology (from what I understand it wasn't; it just looks that way, but it is clearly a deliberate design choice). Well acted, well scripted, well directed. It's quite good and easy to see why it's nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

The poor aesthetics is purposeful and fits like a glove, this movie is absolutely great!

I can see why some people would complain about the movie's pace - not a lot happens, but what happens is thunderous. I particularly appreciated the moments we're brought shoulder to shoulder with the characters and watch the ads on TV - it's quite immersive, particularly as each campaign responds to the other. I was somehow familiar with the history of Chile's dictatorship but unfamiliar with the No referendum, and I feel I learned a lot with this movie. Well acted, sets are incredible, and technically excellent from a production perspective.

So beautiful.

Nice that it amalgamates well the footage of the time, and the reacted parts, without looking too much dramatized.