Most of us learned of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan when we were children, taught that he was the first to sail around the world. Just as much of Christopher Columbus’ history was simplified and made more palatable, the same goes with Ferdinand. But Lav Diaz’s film Magellan seeks to dispel the easy mythmaking that surrounds him, to reveal the ugly violence at the heart of colonialism.
Gael Garcia Bernal stars in Magellan as the titular navigator, driven by ego and fueled by corruption during his bloody campaigns in Southeast Asia in the 16th century.
The film premiered at Cannes to rave reviews, currently scoring at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Magellan is the Philippines’ official submission for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award.
Diaz’s films put the audience through the wringer, and can be a test of patience. Magellan clocks in at 160-minutes and, believe it or not, it’s one of the shortest movies of his lengthy career.
SYNOPSIS: At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan navigated a fleet of ships to Southeast Asia, attempting the first voyage across the vast Pacific Ocean. On reaching the Malay Archipelago, the crew pushed to the brink of madness in the harshness of the high seas and overwhelming natural beauty of the islands, Magellan’s obsession leads to a rebellion and reckoning with the consequences of power. A vast, globe-spanning epic from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (Norte, the End of History), MAGELLAN presents the colonization of the Philippines as a primal, shocking encounter with the unknown and a radical retelling of European narratives of discovery and exploration.
Magellan opens in theaters on January 9th 2026 from Janus Films.
