It has been one helluva week for Pablo Larrain. Easily one of the most buzzed-about movies on the Croisette — and it wasn't even in the proper festival lineup, playing the Directors' Fortnight instead — the biggest question being asked among those who saw and fell in love with "No" was how the Cannes selection committee didn't manage to snag this one for themselves. In the end, it doesn't matter — the movie spoke for itself and has walked away with the top prize, the Art Cinema Award.
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, the film tells the story of an ad man whose surprisingly upbeat campaign against General Augusto Pinochet helped to oust the leader in a 1988 referendum in Chile. The movie was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and earned rave reviews, including one from us, with our man on the ground calling it "a galvanizing true story [that also shows] us the hearts and lives of the people on both sides of the vote, 'No' is one of the breakout films of Cannes."
Undoubtedly, this will now position "No" as a foreign film contender in a big way during the awards season, and while there's no formal date yet, we expect that after doing the fall festival circuit, SPC will drop it into theaters. Also taking home honors: Merzak Allouache's psychological drama about Islamic fundamentalism, "The Repentant," nabbed the Europa Cinemas prize for best European film, while Noemie Lvovsky's romance "Camille Rewinds" won the French language film trophy. [Variety]