As the last part of the "Dictator Pinochet Trilogy", "Say No to Chile" finally got rid of the rough and bleak aesthetic style and boring characters in the first two works, using humor and sharp irony throughout . Tone, a political allegory in the style of a pseudo-documentary is rendered vividly and vividly. In the first two works, the protagonists are all small people living under the dictatorship, who lose ethics and morals in order to satisfy nihilistic ideals or humble desires. The protagonist of this work is still an ordinary person who has nothing to do with politics, but he did not embark on the path of helping the evildoers, but chose to use his professional talents to fight against this evil dictatorship.
Based on real history, the film tells the legendary story of " advertising to save the country " during the reign of Chilean military dictator Pinochet . The military government used a brutal and high-pressure policy to suppress dissidents and caused a lot of dissatisfaction. However, in the face of international pressure, it was forced to hold a referendum. The people used "Yes" or "No" to decide whether Pinochet would take over. The term of office is eight years. The leader of the opposition party hired a young advertiser to make publicity. The plot to overthrow the dictatorship with an advertising film is like a fantasy, but the director Lalain’s use of a pseudo-documentary has greatly enhanced the film’s sense of reality. In order to restore the retro sense of the times, he did not hesitate to use an outdated U-Matic tape recorder to shoot, and then convert the video into a digital format image after the shooting. This rigorous study of the details of the times brought unexpected impressions. At first I thought there was a problem with the picture. The quality of the nostalgic video tape was dazzling. At a certain moment, I had the illusion of going back in time, and the picture appeared from time to time. The seven-color halo seems to intentionally echo the rainbow symbol in the opposition advertisement in the play . At the same time, historical archives and news reports are embedded in the fictional plots from time to time, so that the truth and fiction can be perfectly blended in the narrative text .
The film takes the propaganda battle between the military government and the opposition as the focus of the narrative. Both camps are trying their best to attract supporters in the propaganda film broadcasted on TV every night, and a lot of jokes have been made in the process. Fans in the advertising industry may feel the same. The promos of the opposition camp seem to be no different from ordinary Coca-Cola ads. When analyzing, they must consider who the audience of the promo is and how they should go out to vote. The military government camp is not to be outdone, relying on rich funds to shoot big scenes, and use the same advertising strategy to fight back. As a result, a political election concerning the future and future of the whole people has transformed into an advertising competition that attracts voters to participate . The expected seriousness is swept away, and it has become a humorous advertising industry to show off, from topic selection to production. Then to the strategy, it is full of the taste of incomparable commercialization . On thinking about it, this seems to hide the director 's irony on democratic elections . In essence, elections are about inciting public opinion and discrediting opponents. The more people who can "flicker" out to vote, naturally the more chances of victory. The multiple interpretations of the film's text prevent this pseudo-recorded subject matter from becoming a mediocre work.
Lalain tried many aesthetic methods in this work, and formed a fixed style, which appeared in subsequent works. In addition to the use of outdated shooting techniques just mentioned to restore the sense of age, there are also a large number of backlit and overexposed images that are impressive, rendering the psychological emotions of the characters. In addition, a normal character dialogue is filmed by jumping and editing . The character background is constantly changing, but the content of the dialogue is coherent, which breaks the dull sense of rhythm. This unique editing technique was further demonstrated in the later "Fathers Club" and "Chasing Neruda".
In summary, Pablo Larrain's trilogy continues the narrative perspective of civilians , and has a completely different orientation from the subject matter of celebrity biographies he later photographed. The director tried his best to show that in the era of dictatorship, no matter how far away from politics, small people will unknowingly be wrapped in the torrent of history . The protagonists in the first two movies are all “villains”, who are either connivated by anarchy or small favors from the regime, thus falling into the whirlpool of human darkness. The protagonist in this movie has a similar aspect, except that he is an advertising planner from the middle class, and he has no worries about food and clothing, and he never thought of overthrowing the dictatorship.
In the film, a lot of pen and ink is used to describe his fearful side in the face of the threat of the military government. However, after careful consideration, he resolutely chooses to speak for the opposition. From a big point of view, it can be said that it is for the future and destiny of the people of the country. From a personal point of view, it seems that it is also for the purpose of giving full play to professional expertise. In his opinion, the task of taking over this opposition campaign advertisement is no different from other commercial advertisements. This is confirmed at the beginning and end of the film. Especially in the climax ending, usually when the opposition wins the election, the ending is happy, but the director returns to the opening scene of a similar film, not only implying that this is just his job, but also leads to more associations. . As a kind of popular culture, advertising has such a huge influence. Will it become a world dominated by popular culture in the future? Will it become a ruling tool for the government to brainwash the people?
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