The film Neruda left me with a lot of questions. I thought it was difficult to make out the storyline and the characters did not make much sense to me. While eluding capture by the president of Chile, Neruda engages in a game of cat and mouse with a policeman hired to find him. I found some parts ridiculous because at one point he and the policeman are facing each other but the policeman still cannot find him. Some scenes where Neruda is in a brothel just seemed vulgar to me. He did not seem like he really did not want to be found. All the while, his lover and others who love his poetry are doing all the work trying to keep him safe.

Although I thought some parts did not make much sense, one particular scene raised a key question for me. A poor woman asks Neruda that when communism gets to Chile, will everyone be like him, a rich politician and poet, or her, forced to clean up after others? I thought that this was a very valid question to ask, considering how much Neruda loved to party and drink. The film attempted to portray him as someone who cared about the poor workers, but I was personally not convinced. He seemed to just enjoy how everyone adored and loved him.

At the end of the movie, I was also confused about whether the policeman was dead or not. At one point he was in the grave, then at one point he was at a motel! This film was odd and nonsensical at times. However, I think it raised an important question about the credibility of those who are loved by the people. Are they really what everyone thinks they are or is it just their creation of a persona that everyone loves?