Review: A poet on the run in startlingly great 'Neruda'

Larrain is not interested in dramatizing a Wikipedia page, but getting to the truth in spite of the facts.

When a warrant is issued for his arrest, Pablo and Delia go on the run away from their fancy digs and parties and friends and attempt survival in more modest settings, always fearful of who might be around the corner ready to report them to the authorities.

On their tail is a police officer, Inspector Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal), a character who was invented for the story to make it more of a fable.

The artificiality of the self-conscious exchange is exaggerated by their shifting setting (one moment they're inside sitting at a table, the next they're outside standing face to face).

Not many directors get a one-two punch like "Jackie" and "Neruda" in the same season, but it just makes it all the more clear that Larrain is one of the world's most exciting and imaginative filmmakers, whatever the subject may be.