Summary
An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party.
An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party.
Filtering a bid for freedom through a prism of pure cinema, Pablo Larraín's second biopic of 2016, following Jackie, explores the contradictory character of the titular poet-diplomat. When communism is outlawed in Chile in 1948, a warrant is issued for the arrest of senator Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco), a champion of the unions. Attempting to flee the country, he is pursued by a dashing but inept detective (Gael García Bernal). Balancing action with eloquent introspection, Larraín and screenwriter Guillermo Calderón explore the art of myth-making as Neruda contemplates his place in history, determined to dictate his own narrative. The film is as much a celebration of the medium as the man, morphing from noir to Hitchcockian chase to farce to western. Events are relayed with lashings of humour and romance, the sumptuous staging and showy camerawork fitting the flamboyant protagonist who's ill-suited to slumming it as a fugitive in the shadows. In fact, this man of noble principles and notable creativity is shown to be something of a scoundrel, with Larraín's imaginative, unforgettable film presenting him warts and all.
role | name |
---|---|
Pablo Neruda | Luis Gnecco |
Oscar Peluchonneau | Gael García Bernal |
Delia del Carril | Mercedes Morán |
Martínez | Diego Muñoz |
Victor Pey | Pablo Derqui |
Álvaro Jara | Michael Silva (2) |
Jorge Alessandri | Jaime Vadell |
Gabriel González Videla | Alfredo Castro |
role | name |
---|---|
Director | Pablo Larraín |