Pablo Larrain is coming for the awards season in a huge way this year. The glitzier offering is “Jackie,” the Darren Aronofsky produced, Natalie Portman starring drama about the life of the former First Lady during her most tumultuous time. And while that movie will have a bright light shone up on it, let’s not forget about “Neruda.” Premiering earlier this year at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, it’s Chile’s official selection for the Academy Awards, and it would be quite something if Larrain had both of his films up for Oscars.
Starring Gael García Bernal and Luis Gnecco, “Neruda” tells the story of the Chilean government’s hunt for the poet, which soon cause a cat and mouse game about identity and obsession. Here’s the official synopsis:
Beloved poet Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) is also the most famous communist in post-WWII Chile. When the political tides shift, he is forced underground, with a perseverant police inspector (Gael García Bernal) hot on his trail. Meanwhile, in Europe, the legend of the poet hounded by the policeman grows, and artists led by Pablo Picasso clamor for Neruda’s freedom. Neruda, however, sees the struggle with his police inspector nemesis as an opportunity to reinvent himself. He cunningly plays with the inspector, leaving clues designed to make their game of cat-and-mouse ever more perilous. In this story of a persecuted poet and his obsessive adversary, Neruda recognizes his own heroic possibilities: a chance to become a symbol for liberty, as well as a literary legend.
“Neruda” opens on December 16th.