Magellan
This breathtakingly painterly period piece from a master of slow cinema dismantles the myth of a Portuguese explorer (Gael García Bernal) and exposes the perils of colonialism.
Lav Diaz’s Magellan is a revisionist period piece deconstructing the hero mythos surrounding explorer Ferdinand Magalhães (Gael Garcia Bernal). The young, ambitious Portuguese sailor rebels against the king’s wishes and eventually convinces Spain to finance his expedition in hopes of Eastern riches. Over the course of the journey the crew are tormented by hunger, mutiny and exhaustion. On arrival in the Malay archipelago, Magalhães’ behaviour takes a turn: he begins a rabid quest for power and religious conversion, causing violent conflict.
In the hands of the master of modern Filipino cinema, the film does not concentrate on polishing Magalhães’ heroic image, but amplifies the voices of the islands’ Indigenous population as the moral opposition to colonial power.
Director Lav Diaz is known for his films often spanning 8-10 hours, but this brilliantly shot, at times picturesque drama is one of his more accessible works. Diaz depicts the spiritual and physical destruction wrought by colonialism through long, static takes and moments of stillness, avoiding spectacle and focusing on the lingering beautiful scenery in the aftermath of violence. It is a poetic and bleak meditation on conquest, faith and the dangerous first steps of colonialism.
Otto Kylmälä (translated by Adrian Murtomäki)
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