Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Magellan (film)

2025 historical drama film by Lav Diaz From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Magellan (film)
Remove ads
For the 2014 Peruvian film, see Magallanes (film).

Magellan (Portuguese: Magalhães) is a 2025 epic historical drama film written, co-edited and directed by Lav Diaz, his first film not in the Tagalog language.[5] It stars Gael García Bernal as Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and depicts his role in the Portuguese and Spanish colonial campaigns in Southeast Asia in the early 16th century.[6]

Quick facts Portuguese, Directed by ...

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Premiere section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May. It was theatrically released in Philippines by TEN17P on 10 September. It was selected as the Philippines' entry to the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, but was not nominated.[7][8]

Remove ads

Plot

Summarize
Perspective

In 1511, Ferdinand Magellan participates in the Capture of Malacca under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque and is injured in battle. He buys a Cebuano slave whom he names Enrique and brings him along upon his return to Portugal. Magellan is nursed back to health by Beatriz Barbosa, whom he marries, while Enrique continues to worship his native gods in secret. Years later, King Manuel I of Portugal rejects Magellan’s proposal to circumnavigate the globe to find a trade route that would avoid Spanish competitors, prompting Magellan to go to Spain instead, where his proposal is accepted. In 1519, he embarks on his voyage, leaving a pregnant Beatriz behind.

Magellan faces multiple challenges while undertaking his voyage. He has a crewmember put to death for engaging in homosexual acts, and maroons another crew member and a priest on Patagonia for mutiny. Several mutinies lead to the loss of several ships, with crew members executed or tied up as punishment. As his fleet makes its way through the Pacific Ocean, the prolonged voyage leaves the crew in a dire condition. Magellan dreams of Beatriz informing him of the deaths of their child and herself.

Enrique spots the island of Cebu, lifting the crew's hopes. Going ashore, they are met by the local chieftain, Rajah Humabon, with Enrique acting as translator. Magellan brings a statuette of the Santo Niño and his personal stash of quince to Humabon's sick son in the hopes of curing him. When the boy recovers, Humabon's wife attributes the event to the Santo Niño, triggering celebrations in the community. Magellan and Humabon enter into a blood compact and convinces Humabon and his subjects to convert to Christianity. Within days however, Magellan and his crew draw the ire of the natives by burning the images of their anitos, as Humabon's wife, baptized under the name Juana, warns that they will face retribution from their gods.

Humabon instructs his men to spread rumors of the existence of Datu Lapu-Lapu, a wak-wak who preys on humans. Magellan, who dismisses Lapu-Lapu as a phantasm, is lured to fight him after being informed that he and his subjects are defying him. Magellan and his forces set off to battle, only to be wiped out as he staggers along the battlefield before collapsing. Enrique watches Humabon and his subjects carrying the corpse of one of Magellan's crew and his detached head in celebration, as he reveals in a voice-over that it was Humabon and his forces who attacked Magellan and that there was no Lapu-Lapu. Enrique also reveals that he participated in the massacre of most of Magellan's remaining men to regain his freedom.

Remove ads

Cast

Remove ads

Production

Summarize
Perspective

Development

Lav Diaz conceptualized the film with production company Rosa Filmes under the working title ''Magellan'', which would portray a group of Filipinos who travel to Portugal to trace Magellan's origins in Portugal. The film aimed to "reverse the look between the coloniser and the empire".[12] First announced in 2019 as Beatrice, The Wife, Diaz was inspired by the life of Magellan's wife Beatriz Barbosa de Magallanes, whom he married just two years before he set off for the Magellan expedition.[13] Diaz wrote on the film with focus on Beatriz, as Diaz found that the dearth of text written about her allowed creative liberties. During his research, he realized that Lapulapu may have been fictional as information on Lapulapu from primary sources were not clear and shifted the film's focus on that aspect.[10][2][14] The film's production team travelled to Seville and Lisbon to study archival materials and scout for filming locations.[14][2]

Diaz stated that his seven years of research into historical sources led him to portray Lapulapu, the datu of Mactan, as a "myth" rather than a historical figure.[15] He argued that Lapulapu may have been created by Rajah Humabon to discourage Magellan's crew from converting more people into Christianity, remarking that "no one ever saw Lapulapu." Because of Lapulapu's widespread and official recognition as a historical figure in the Philippines,[16][17][18][19] Diaz acknowledged that his interpretation might be criticized as "revisionist".[20]

Gael Garcia Bernal, who portrays Magellan, learned of the project from Joaquim Sapinho on a phone call, and met producers Sapinho and Albert Serra in Berlin to discuss his role, and eventually with Diaz in Lisbon.[14] Gael learned to speak Portuguese in order to play Magellan. Hazel Orencio, who portrays Juana, was required to learn Cebuano (Bisaya) for this film. She was aided by the film's assistant director, Sanny Joaquin, a native speaker of the language.[2] During post-production the footage was divided in two feature films, with Magellan being the first, and an untitled second film with a nine-hour cut featuring Beatriz's side of the story.[6]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Sampaloc and Mauban towns in Quezon, Philippines, in the last quarter of 2024, followed by filming in southern Portugal and Cádiz, Spain. Production wrapped in December.[6][21] The replica of Ferdinand Magellan's Victoria, which was in Cádiz during filming was also used.[21] During filming, Diaz fell ill with tuberculosis.[22]

Arthur Tort, producer Albert Serra's regular collaborator, was the director of photography alongside Diaz. The film was shot with multiple Panasonic Lumix GH7 digital cameras, in its square 4:3 aspect ratio, the same equipment used by Tort in Pacifiction (2022) and Afternoons of Solitude (2024).[23]

Remove ads

Release

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Cast and crew at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

Magellan had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2025.[21][24] It was screened in the Cannes Premiere section, while the second film is still in post-production.[25]

Prior to its world premiere, Nour Films acquired the distribution rights of the film in France.[26] The North American distribution rights were acquired by Janus Films, announced after the festival.[27][28] In the Philippines, Ten17P holds the distribution rights of the film in the country.[29]

The film had its Australian premiere at the 72nd Sydney Film Festival.[30] It is scheduled to make its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, followed by the U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival under the Main Slate section.[31][32] It is scheduled to compete at the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.[33] In September 2025, it was announced that the film would have its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.[34]

It was released in the Philippines on 10 September 2025.[35] The film was originally an entry at the 2025 Asean International Film Festival in Malaysia, where Diaz was honored with a lifetime achievement award, but was barred from screening due to certain nude scenes deemed contrary to Sharia law.[36]

It will be released in the United States on January 9, 2026.[37]

Remove ads

Reception

Summarize
Perspective

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 25 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Guy Lodge of Variety described the film as "stunningly mounted" and "politically rigorous," noting that at two hours and forty-five minutes it is comparatively short for Diaz, but still "no artistic compromise," with the spirit of slow cinema intact.[38] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer similarly remarked that the film was "exquisitely crafted" and may be one of Diaz's most accessible works, while emphasizing that its austere, meditative style still places it firmly within the director's body of work.[39] Jonathan Romney of Screen International characterized it as a "sardonic, detached but compelling study,"[40] while Josh Slater-Williams of IndieWire considered it as one of the director's "most fascinating achievements," calling it a "hypnotizing historical and spiritual epic" and praising its immersive qualities across decades of history, something he argued few such stories successfully achieve.[41] Critics also commended Gael García Bernal's performance. Jonathan Romney noted that Garcia Bernal's "muted performance... vividly evokes the physical and mental wear and tear on a voyager's being."[40] In a more critical review, Daily Tribune's Stephanie Mayo describes Magellan as "costume-driven and staged" by citing anticipable and sparse dialogue, exaggerated expressions, and cinematography that "prevents audience engagement" throughout the film.[42]

Other critics emphasized the film’s visual style and scope, with particular praise for cinematographer Arthur Tort, working alongside Diaz. Àngel Quintana of Caimán Cuadernos de Cine praised its "epic dimension" achieved without resorting to spectacle,[43] while Diego Batlle of Otroscines.com highlighted Diaz's ability to compose shots with "density, dimension, and suggestive power."[44] Paul Enicola of The Asian Cut praised the film's use of 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which "tightens the frame until it feels almost Bergmanesque with faces boxed in and history pressing down."[3] Clarence Tsui of the South China Morning Post lauded its "stunning imagery" and "slow-burning, yet ceaselessly fiery narrative."[45]

The film received an honorable mention in The New Yorker magazine's Best Films of 2025 list.[46]

Historical accuracy

The portrayal of Mactan chieftain Lapulapu as a "myth" drew mixed reactions from historians.

In an article published on The Freeman, two unnamed Cebu-based historians strongly disputed Diaz's claim and insisted that Lapulapu's existence is attested by Enrique of Malacca and Antonio Pigafetta, and how Pigafetta's account is a highly reliable source as he witnessed the Battle of Mactan first-hand. Other historians, including one cited by The Freeman, acknowledged the "artistic license" taken by Lav Diaz.[47] At an invitational screening, Ambeth Ocampo noted that Diaz had made a film, not a "doctoral dissertation" and criticized the anonymous historians in The Freeman article for commenting on a film they had not seen.[48] University of San Carlos associate professor George Borrinaga, in the same The Freeman article, acknowledged the film as a means to promote discussions on Lapulapu and how the lack of primary sources outside of Pigafetta led Diaz to be convinced that Lapulapu is a "myth", advising the viewers to take the claim with a "grain of salt".[47]

In Ocampo's review published on Philippine Daily Inquirer, he noted "minor" inaccuracies, such as how the historical Santo Niño image depicted in the film was actually naked and white-skinned, while blood compact ceremonies were conducted using blood drawn from under the breast, rather than from the arms as depicted in the film.[49]

Diaz himself already anticipated criticisms of "historical revisionism".[20] He argued that Filipinos should reconsider Rajah Humabon's place in Philippine history and his portrayal of events of the film is the result of his own research.[50]

The use of the Cebuano language in Magellan was described by some as overly modern. The Asian Cut's Paul Enicola wrote in his Toronto International Film Festival review, "More contentious is the use of Cebuano here, which occasionally veers into modern registers that jar against the historical setting." He added that as a fluent Cebuano speaker, he found it distracting, though not a significant issue in his viewing experience.[3] An article by &Asian quoted a few Cebuano-speaking moviegoers who said that the film's language was rather "anachronistic" due to its "minimal" borrowings from Hiligaynon and Tagalog.[4]

Accolades

More information Award, Date of ceremony ...
Remove ads

See also

Remove ads

Notes

  1. [a]
    Many official listings and some articles from major outlets have described Magellan as a Tagalog or Filipino film. However, the cast members have stated that they learned Cebuano (Bisaya) for Magellan.[2] The Asian Cut's Paul Enicola, a fluent speaker of Cebuano, likewise wrote that the film uses Cebuano, not Tagalog.[3] In an article published by &Asian on 27 October, 2025, writer Julienne Loreto also quoted Cebuano-speaking moviegoers who confirmed that the film's main language is Cebuano and criticised other platforms for erroneously calling it a Tagalog-language film. As of writing, the British Film Institute have issued an apology.[4]
  2. [b]
    Award shared with The Mastermind.
Remove ads

References

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads