Magellan
A quick search for Ferdinand Magellan conjures up the familiar image of the Portuguese explorer who led the first voyage around the world. His name lives on in a strait, two galaxies and even a species of penguin. Yet behind this heroic status lies a brutal history of colonial oppression, religious coercion and violence.
Magellan dreams of finding a new sea route to the East. After the Portuguese king rejects his plans, the Spanish Crown agrees to finance his risky expedition. Food shortages, storms and mutiny turn the crossing into a gruelling ordeal. Yet the greatest danger lies not in the ocean, but in Magellan’s growing conviction of his own authority and historical destiny. In the Malay Archipelago, his mission descends into a colonial campaign marked by fear, resistance and violence. The man who set out to discover unknown worlds ultimately proves trapped by his faith, sense of superiority and lust for power.
Known for Norte, the End of History and The Woman Who Left, Diaz rewrites this history from a Filipino perspective. While European history books still tend to glorify voyages of discovery as feats of courage and progress, he turns his attention to those who suffered their consequences.
For the first time, Diaz casts an internationally renowned actor as his protagonist: Gael García Bernal (THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN, NERUDA). Bernal portrays Magellan not as a compelling adventurer or charming villain, but as a closed-off man who hides behind religion and royal authority.
Do not expect a conventional historical epic. Diaz presents the past as a collection of traces, silences and missing voices. Instead of epic battles, we mainly see what the violence leaves behind. Cinematographer Artur Tort—known for his collaborations with Albert Serra, who produced the film—captures these moments in images that feel both tangible and detached. The jungle is not a picturesque backdrop for a European adventure, but a powerful environment that refuses to be conquered.
MEGALLAN recalls anticolonial films such as Werner Herzog’s AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and Gillo Pontecorvo’s QUIEMADA!, in which European expansionism similarly descends into violence and madness. Yet Diaz follows his own distinct rhythm and perspective. He portrays not only the downfall of one man, but also examines how colonial perpetrators became heroes while their victims vanished from collective memory. In doing so, the film connects Magellan’s past to a colonial legacy that continues to shape the present, yet remains barely acknowledged.
