Neruda

It's 1948 in Chile and the Cold War casts a long shadow over the capital. The celebrated poet and senator Pablo Neruda is targeted after accusing the government of betraying the Communist Party, and his parliamentary immunity is stripped away by the president. A relentless police inspector, Óscar Peluchonneau, is ordered to bring Neruda in. Neruda and his wife, the painter Delia del Carril, decide to flee the country, but the authorities corner them, forcing the couple to disappear from public view. The film follows a tense cat and mouse dynamic set against a fraught political landscape, balancing literary legend with political danger. The drama blends noir mood with pressure of state power as Neruda becomes a symbol of resistance.

Directed by Pablo Larraín, Neruda released in 2016 as a drama inspired by the poet's 1948 crackdown. The screenplay is credited to Guillermo Calderón with a concept by Eliseo Altunaga, and the film embraces a tight stylized approach.

The film wears its political climate as a central mood rather than a dull history lesson. Gael García Bernal gives Neruda a lived, wry presence, while the visuals emphasize shadows and confinement. It sparked conversation about art and dissent in postwar Chile, and its stylish tone resonated with festival audiences.

Critics generally praised the film for its measured direction and quiet tension, noting Neruda emerges as a figure caught between public myth and private risk. The drama examines how political pressure shapes creative honesty and loyalty, and how art can survive interrogation under an authoritarian gaze.