Magellan

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Magellan

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2h 36m

Biography

Drama

History

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88%

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48 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

16th century. Magellan, a young and ambitious Portuguese navigator, rebels against the power of the King, who doesn't support his dream of discovering the world. He persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold expedition to the fabled lands of the East. The voyage is exhausting beyond expectations, with hunger and mutiny pushing the crew to their limits. Upon reaching the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, Magellan's mind changes. He becomes obsessed with conquest and conversion, which sparks violent uprisings beyond his control. This is not the myth of Magellan, but the truth of his journey.

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Critics Consensus

Magellan blends Lav Diaz's slow cinema rigor with the biopic form to create a visually hypnotic, deliberately paced historical epic that immerses viewers in a spiritually charged meditation on power, mythology, and colonial ambition.

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Michael Andor Brodeur

Washington Post

Jan 27

4/4

The scale of the film remains resolutely epic, in part because Diaz is patient and in part because he’s insistent on telling this story of conquest and domination on his terms.

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Sergio Burstein

Los Angeles Times

Jan 21

Both true film buffs and admirers of García Bernal should know that this is an absolutely outstanding work, brilliantly filmed and eminently contemplative. [Full review in Spanish]

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Thelma Adams

AARP Movies for Grownups

Jan 9

3/5

Gael García Bernal fully inhabits the titular conquistador in a performance both present and potent, on a quest that began with optimism but ended in dire straits.

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Peter Keough

Arts Fuse

Feb 11

Magellan proffers a nightmarish vision of history as tragedy, farce, and prophecy.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Feb 9

What it may lack in excitement and character intimacy, however, the film makes up for in sheer beauty -- it’s best to let the images cast their hypnotic spell, en route soaking up a creditable amount of insight about the clash between cultures.

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Oscar Goff

Cambridge Day

Feb 8

3.5/4

Diaz captures the lush scenery with a painterly eye, slaughter in the foreground, natural beauty behind it.

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Michael M

@MMcGill1775 12h

This was absolutely the worst movie that I have seen in years, 99% of the shots are from a tripod with no movement. Every shot is just standing still. The edits are terrible. The person would walk off camera, and they would just keep filming for 20 seconds or more. Just wasted film and time. I kept skipping through the movie, and it just kept getting worse. Please do not watch this movie. It was so bad that I set up a Rotten Tomatoes account just to write this review.

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revolver.0 8

@Revolver08 2d

dry static but great composing cinematography and character deconstruction, till falling asleep pacing

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Kevin L

@Lakeman Mar 14

This is epic work, but a film that imbues the viewer with such a precise, detailed, & authentic sense of the experience such voyagers would've experienced. The 160 min. is necessary to take you through the insanely exhausting voyage to these Pacific island lands; to get a sense of the psychological trauma that would slowly overcome those would-be marauders, imperialists, with their dubious claim to be spreading Christianity to the world when it was ultimately about power & control. Writer/director Lav Diaz has done an incredible job in re-creating time & place for Magellan's voyage to the would-be colonization of the Philippines. The painstaking work for the scenes on the ship, along with the time/place jumps from Portugal to Malacca, make for such great realism. Most impressive work as well by Diaz as well in editing, production design, cinemtography along w/ Arthur Tort. This is what can come when power & greed & corruptible seed seem to be all that there is. 4.2 stars

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James Robbie D

@jeymsrobiiie Mar 8

The information provided at the end is misleading. Lapu Lapu was a real person, and the director and writers should have done their research instead of relying solely on their knowledge. Please stop rewriting other countries’ history. It was a waste of almost 3 hours.

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Andrei D

@RT74856639 Feb 19

Barely a movie, limited acting, uninterested in narrative, impressionistic in the worst way

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Y.t Z

@Tinaz Feb 15

The most needed reflection during this epoch of globalization ! Artistic! Stunning! Not for the masses though.

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Lav Diaz

Director

Gael García Bernal

Actor

Ângela Azevedo

Actor

Amado Arjay Babon

Actor

Ronnie Lazaro

Actor

Hazel Orencio

Actor

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Synopsis

16th century. Magellan, a young and ambitious Portuguese navigator, rebels against the power of the King, who doesn't support his dream of discovering the world. He persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold expedition to the fabled lands of the East. The voyage is exhausting beyond expectations, with hunger and mutiny pushing the crew to their limits. Upon reaching the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, Magellan's mind changes. He becomes obsessed with conquest and conversion, which sparks violent uprisings beyond his control. This is not the myth of Magellan, but the truth of his journey.

Director: Lav Diaz
Screenwriter: Lav Diaz
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Rosa Filmes, Andergraun Films, Lib Films, Black Cap Pictures
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Original Language: Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 9, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 2h 36m