Anyone who knows Pablo Larraín's early work may wonder if his recent bio-pics, Jackie, about the First Lady's life after her husband's assassination and Spencer, a portrait of Princess Diana, were made by another filmmaker with the same name. (Larraín's upcoming film is Maria, about the opera singer Maria Callas.) At the beginning of his career he was celebrated for his haunting, sanguineous tales of unrest in his native Chile.
Then there was NO (2013), his breakout film, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. That movie is about a political campaign, one that Larraín saw as marking a dramatic shift in the history of his country. It is a riveting film, and I interviewed him for Film Journal International upon its release. Here is the link to that conversation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OkruY0ZPaq2oyW1bVITQauswqr0w24c9/view?usp=sharing
To the right of this column are several more wonderful films you may wish to watch while you fret over the outcome of our presidential race. One of them follows the escapades of a millionaire who decides to run for president, and others are skillfully crafted documentaries. My favorite is Preston Sturges's The Great McGinty.
