Neruda

It’s 1948, and the Cold War has reached Chile. Following the President’s outlawing of communism, Neruda (Gnecco) and his artist wife Delia (Mercedes Morán) are forced into hiding. Beloved by the populace, they slip underground and are pursued by incompetent, vainglorious police inspector Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal), hoping to make a name for himself by capturing the country’s most infamous fugitive.

Whilst life on the run holds little charm for the cultured and hedonistic Neruda, he uses the opportunity to reinvent his work and life, leaving clues for his pursuer designed to make their game of cat-and-mouse even more dangerous and thrilling. Thwarting Peluchonneau at every turn, it’s almost as if the detective is the man Neruda would have written to chase himself…

Blending visual grandeur and literary wit, NERUDA is a beguiling reinvention of the ‘standard’ cinematic biography. Playfully confounding expectations at every turn, the film offers a startling rumination on the split between the person and persona, the man and the artist.

Gripping, funny and ingeniously conceived, this is undoubtedly Larrain’s finest achievement to date.