Neruda (2016)
82%RT Audience Score: 68%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
32 wins & 20 nominations total
Inventive, intelligent, and beautifully filmed, Neruda transcends the traditional biopic structure to look at the meaning beyond the details of its subject’s life
Neruda is like a poem come to life on the big screen, with breathtaking cinematography and a whimsical, quirky portrayal of the poet himself. Gael Garcia Bernal steals the show with his bumbling, hapless character, who is surprisingly more sympathetic than Neruda himself. While the film may not be a traditional biography, it joyfully celebrates the spirit of the man and his momentous times. It’s a fascinating and unique rumination on the nature of Neruda’s legend, and by the end, you’ll feel like you’re part of his poetry in motion. Plus, who doesn’t love a good phantasmagorical rumination?
Production Company(ies)
Backup Media, Big Farm Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
Distributor
The Orchard
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Pollara, Salina Island, Aeolian Islands, Messina, Sicily, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for mild thematic elements
Year of Release
1996
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
-
Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 47m
-
Language(s):Italian, Spanish
-
Country of origin:United States, Argentina, Chile
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2016 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 13, 2017
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Luis Gnecco, Gael García Bernal, Mercedes Morán, Diego Muñoz, Pablo Derqui, Michael Silva, directed by Pablo Larraín, written by Guillermo Calderón, History, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Namrata Joshi, David Stratton, Sandra Hall, Candice Frederick, Donald Clarke, Nicholas Barber, R rating, Peter Danner, Renan Artukmac, Alex Zito, Juan Pablo García, Ignacio Rey, Gastón Rothschild, Juan de Dios Larraín, The Orchard, Dolby, Chilean politician, police inspector, 1948, Spanish, Pablo Neruda, Óscar Peluchonneau, Delia del Carril, Victor Pey, Álvaro Jara
Worldwide gross: $21,898,920
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $41,799,465
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,420
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,558,284
US/Canada gross: $21,848,932
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $41,704,051
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,151
US/Canada opening weekend: $95,310
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $181,923
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,702
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,726,237
Production budget ranking: 1,850
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,083,578
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,989,650
ROI to date (est.): 374%
ROI ranking: 363
Gael García Bernal – Óscar Peluchonneau
Mercedes Morán – Delia del Carril
Diego Muñoz – Martínez
Pablo Derqui – Victor Pey
Michael Silva – Álvaro Jara
Director(s)
Pablo Larraín
Writer(s)
Guillermo Calderón
Producer(s)
Peter Danner, Renan Artukmac, Alex Zito, Juan Pablo García, Ignacio Rey, Gastón Rothschild, Juan de Dios Larraín
Film Festivals
Tribeca, Cannes, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
32 wins & 20 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (155) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (144) | Rotten (11)
Most of all, it is about the transforming power of art, how Neruda’s own works fire the artistic sensibilities…
July 24, 2018
Namrata Joshi
The Hindu
TOP CRITIC
This smart, whimsical, extremely quirky and devilishly entertaining portrait of the poet is far from being a traditional biography but it joyfully celebrates the spirit of the man and his momentous times.
May 26, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
There’s a comic edge to [Gael Garcia Bernal’s] performance that steals the movie. In his bumbling, hapless way, he’s a more sympathetic character than Neruda himself.
May 24, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Breathtaking cinematography, but focusing the narrative from Garcia’a character’s point of view would have been far more compelling.
May 5, 2017 | Rating: 1-5 stars
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
It’s almost there. But not quite. Not quite.
April 26, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
Sweeping, poignant, bizarre, funny and unique.
April 20, 2017
Nicholas Barber
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Neruda has no answers for these questions but it asks them in a moving way that sometimes feels like a new achievement in the abilities of narrative.
January 4, 2021
David Bax
Battleship Pretension
A persistently creative, sometimes phantasmagorical rumination not on Neruda himself (to call the film a biopic would be an unfortunate, if understandable error), but on the nature of his legend.
December 16, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Isaac Feldberg
Cut Print Film
An occasionally flawed yet fascinating film that is both substantial and stylized.
September 18, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Treading boundaries of reality in a free form that is unquestionably cinematic, Larrain achieves something very special with Neruda.
July 17, 2020
Dustin Chang
ScreenAnarchy
Like the film, it never compromises or settles just like the man himself who is always chasing that artful perfection and definition. By delivering the unexpected, before you’ve even realised it, you’re part of the Neruda’s poetry in motion.
July 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Kelechi Ehenulo
Confessions From A Geek Mind
There is a good idea at the center of Neruda, but director Pablo Larraín crams so much info, it gets lost in the shuffle.
January 28, 2020 | Rating: 2/5
Jorge Ignacio Castillo
The Canadian Crew…
Plot
Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet, is exiled to a small island for political reasons. On the island, the unemployed son of a poor fisherman is hired as an extra postman due to the huge increase in mail that this causes. Il Postino is to hand-deliver the celebrity’s mail to him. Though poorly educated, the postman learns to love poetry and eventually befriends Neruda. Struggling to grow and express himself more fully, he suddenly falls in love and needs Neruda’s help and guidance more than ever.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Gael García Bernal’s performance as the determined police inspector searching for Pablo Neruda is described as “comic” and “whimsical” by one critic.
Pablo-Larraín.jpg
