Dir/Wri: Lav Diaz | Drama 158′
Filipino auteur Lav Diaz once again draws us into the hypnotic charm of a bygone era with this traditional, two-dimensional, odyssey, filmed in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio.
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) was the first man to nearly circumnavigate the globe (the feat was finished by Jean Sebastian Elcano) and gave his name to the famous straits providing a natural passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the early 16th century.
This epic captivates for nearly three hours with the story of a seemingly personable pioneer (in Bernal’s performance) who wreaked death and destruction with his relentless, delusional colonial conquest that only saw one side of the equation: that of the Portuguese.
Mexican actor Gael García Bernal plays him with calm and consummate ease, Diaz focus being the surprising nefarious elements in Magellan’s putative positive quest to bring enlightenment.
But eventually arriving in the Philippines, Magellan incurs the wrath of the indigenous chieftains and the rest is history in this magnetic retelling of his story, each frame glowing with the allure of an old masters’ painting by his regular DoP-editor Artur Tort. This is a gem of slow-filmmaking to be treasured at ease and preferably in a comfortable chair with a nice glass of Olazabal Monte Meao at hand. @MeredithTaylor
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL | 2025 .