Cannes 2025 - Magellan by Law Diaz

Set during the early stages of European expansion, Magellan follows the famed explorer Ferdinand Magellan as he embarks on his fateful voyage. When Magellan arrives in unfamiliar territories, encounters with indigenous populations quickly expose the ideological foundations of his mission. What begins as an expedition driven by prestige, faith, and imperial competition gradually becomes more complex and morally compromised.

Magellan is absolutely stunning from start to finish, a film with one painterly shot after another that leaves the audience wanting them to linger even longer to luxuriate in their beauty. What Lav Diaz and his cinematographer Artur Tort have achieved is truly breathtaking, heir images as intimate as they are spectacular. It is all the more remarkable as it is also accomplished in the quieter moments such as a simple shot of Magellan with some blue sky in the background and a few from some flashbacks in Europe. The sound design and use of silence also deserve a particular mention. Dialogue is sparse, often secondary to the ambient sounds of nature. This restraint reinforces the film’s attention to the environment and atmosphere, grounding a historical narrative into a more physical reality.
 

This is not just a beautiful but hollow film however, its interrogation of power, ambition, and historical violence just as compelling. The pacing is deliberate, often austere, yet this is as much a turn towards the mainstream as the Filipino director is ever going to take. The narrative is relatively straightforward, all things considered and the film never feels dry. On the contrary, it is quietly gripping, sustained by a clarity of point of view as well as a complex commentary on colonialism that never feels simplistic or like a lecture. 

Gael García Bernal delivers an extraordinary performance in the title role, showing a facet of his talent and a maturity we have not seen before. He gives much depth to his character, playing him as a man consumed by conviction, pride, and an almost tragic blindness to the consequences of his actions. His Magellan is intelligent, charismatic, and often persuasive, yet increasingly brittle as his authority is tested. 

Magellan is a film that lingers through the quiet persistence of its images and the unresolved questions they leave behind.

Review by Laurent de Alberti.

Official selection, Cannes Premiere.

Star rating: ★★★★★

Magellan. Directed by Law Diaz. Starring Gael García Bernal, Angela Azevedo...