By Dan Skip Allen

There is something to be said about a historical film that deals with subject matter that hasn’t been dealt with on the big screen before or not very often. That’s where the Portuguese film “Magellan “ comes in. It’s a foreign film about the legendary Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It takes place in the 15th and 16th centuries. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal in the title role and directed by Lav Diaz. It’s a sprawling tale of survival from the elements and an indigenous race of people he meets on his most famous journey. It’s an epic tale with incredible camera work extenuating the beautiful time the story took place in.

This story starts in 1511 in Malacca, Malaysia, today. Magellan (Gael Garcia Bernal) is part of an expedition with a Portuguese crew exploring islands. They end up getting into quite a battle with these people. He is injured very badly but is nursed back to health. He eventually makes his way back home. He has issues with the King of Portugal King Manuel. They both, along with others, have different ideas on where to try and conquer next. Exploring and trying to conquer different tribes and so forth is a dangerous and very expensive way to make a living. His livelihood depends on the places he goes and what he comes back with. He does get paid that much from the king. His ideas on where to go next conflict with others.

He ends up making a deal with the leader of Spain instead and has the blessing from the pope at the time Leo the X. This was enough for him to leave his beautiful wife Beatriz (Angela Azevedo) behind while she was pregnant with their only child. The journey was to uncover new routes of trade for Spain and avoid Italy and Islam trade routes. They were also feuding with neighbors Portugal at this time in history. Magellan’s journey was a long and arduous one, though. He and his crew sailed on tremulous open waters, trying to see if the world was round or not. Along the way, he faces bad weather, mutiny, and a tribe of backstabbing Filipinos. This was the biggest journey of his lifetime and would cement him as one of if not the greatest explorer of all time.

The story mainly takes place in a few different segments. All of which start with a year starting in 1511 and ending in 1521. Also, each segment has a place attached to the year it’s in from Malacca to Patagonia, Lisbon, and Seville. This isn’t a birth to death biopic of Ferdinand Magellan, but it does touch on some of the most important times and moments in his life, including his death. Anybody who has studied this much or history in general will or should know this man’s story. The film doesn’t touch on anything new in this man’s life or in history. That doesn’t mean the film or story isn’t good because it is. 

The cast is filled with a lot of actors I wasn’t familiar with, and they all spoke a language I can’t speak, Portuguese. I knew some Portuguese people in my day, but that’s the extent of my experience with this race of people and this language. That being said, I did like some of the performances. Dario Yasbek Bernal as Duarte Barbosa, the brother of Gael Garcia Bernal, Ronnie Lezaro, Brontis Jodorowsky, Ivo Arroja, and Thomas Alves. All of these actors were good, including the one I didn’t mention in the film. This was truly an ensemble cast of many many actors. It couldn’t have been easy for the director, Lav Diaz, to balance so many performances in this epic movie.

One of the best parts of this film was its cinematography. Diaz, the director, and Artur Tort were the  cinematographers for the movie. They captured the beauty of the islands they filmed on as well as the open water. Various scenes of foggy river bends and jungle landscape were brought to life in a gorgeous way. Even the homes and buildings of the time period looked like they belonged with the camera work these men used. Good cinematography helps extenuate the story being told, but this cinematography helps give the film a distinct look that I haven’t seen in movies before. I was genuinely awe struck by how beautiful this movie looked. It brought me into the time period and story as well as I’d possibly could have imagined. 

Gael Garcia Bernal is a fantastic actor. He’s done exceptional work in Amores Perros,Y Tu Mama Tambien, and The Motorcycle Diaries, just to name a few. He is able to bring gravitas to the roles he plays. As a viewer, you believe the characters he’s playing. That’s what I got here in “Magellan “ as well. I genuinely believed he was this man and was going through the struggles of the time. He’s a fantastic Mexican actor who can meld into whatever character he’s playing. The various wars and bureaucratic disputes he has with the leaders of his country were all part of molding him into the legendary explorer.  

“Magellan “ was an epic film, and Lav Diaz filmed it as such. He made the audience feel the difficulties that the men and women in the film were going through on a daily basis. Starting with the amazing performance from Gael Garcia Bernal. He owned this role and was commanding on screen. Next, the cinematography was gorgeous in every scene from beginning to end. The world was brought to life beautifully by Diaz and Tort. I got a lot out of this story that I wouldn’t have gotten had I read about this man, his life, and the famous journey he went on. This was truly a history lesson, and it’s all thanks to Diaz and his crew. Hopefully, this is used as part of teaching about this man and time by history teachers in the future.

4 stars