"Magellan" REVIEW

Published on 3/27/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Lav Diaz 

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Amado Arjay Babon, Ronnie Lazar,  Ângela Ramos, Dario Yazbek Bernal, etc. 

Plot: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan leads a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands in 1519. He quells mutinies, attempts to subjugate indigenous people and ultimately faces death in the Philippines.

REVIEW 

There are films that feel realistic, and then there are films like "Magellan" that feel a step beyond realistic. Watching this film feels like glimpsing directly into history, not just watching a film about something in history but full on watching the literal past unfold before you. That's a rare feat to accomplish, but filmmaker Lav Diaz certainly pulled it off- crafting a meticulous nearly three hour epic that retells famed explorer Ferdinand Magellan's journey across the Pacific Ocean, yet not so much as your regular lavish biopic about a historical figure but more so a brutally authentic depiction of colonization via Magellan's story. This film seamlessly captures how greed and religious power bore the oppressive, invasive act colonization and the violence that always followed- doing so without forgetting to showcase the truth that history books won't, how embarrassing colonization was when ineffective. Much of what can be taken away from this film isn't even due to the film's active strives of messaging, as they don't really exist- this film conveys its messages simply by showcasing the history, letting that speak for itself in what we perceive. Comprised primarily of static shots that often last for several minutes no matter what's on screen, the film very much feels purposefully slow and somewhat sterile- making its three hour runtime feel like a chore throughout, which isn't helped by the film's tendency to keep the emotion and inner workings of the characters at a distance. I'd say that this is a bit of a hard film to watch, but otherwise I can't deny its effectiveness. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• Lav Diaz's direction. Again, it's quite an impressive thing to make a film feel so tapped into realism and so controlled that it doesn't even feel like a film anymore- still it feels so cinematic. Diaz directs this film with mastery when it comes to that. I'm interested to check out more of his films. 

• Gael Garcia Bernal's performance. In the titular role, Bernal is excellent. Very constrained and commanding. 

• The production design. Absolutely seamless sets and art direction, especially in the Cebu villages. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• The film is very slow paced, purposefully so and while not absent of engagement throughout; there are stretches where, as much as I hate to say this, the film feels quite tedious. Boring, even. 

RATING

7/10

It's not an easy watch but if you're interested in historical epics check it out, buddy!