Gael García Bernal thinks he’s Magellan: trailer
A great historical fresco by Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz.
He undertook the first voyage around the world and discovered, between the southern tip of America and Tierra del Fuego, the strait which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Magellan deserved a film. And it is the excellent Gael García Bernal who will bring it to life on screen.
Janus Films has just revealed the official trailer for Magellana major biopic on the seas by Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (Golden Lion in Venice for The Woman Who Went 2016). Presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring, Magellan will be released in France in cinemas on December 31.
The story follows “Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer, leads a fleet to Southeast Asia, attempting the first crossing of the vast Pacific Ocean. But the epic turns into a nightmare: the wild beauty of the islands and the harshness of the oceans push its crew to the brink of madness. Magellan’s obsession sparks rebellion and confrontation with the people he attempts to control, revealing the brutal consequences of power.”
The trailer highlights his perilous journey to the Spice Islands and the tensions that arise from his obsession with conquest and conversion, until his death at the hands of those he wanted to subjugate.
This is the first time that Lav Diaz has directed a film that is not in the Tagalog language. The cast includes Ângela Azevedo (Beatriz), Ronnie Lazaro (Rajah Humabon), Hazel Orencio (Juana), Amado Arjay Babon (Enrique de Malaca), Tomás Alves (Francisco Serrão), Bong Cabrera (Rajah Colambu), Dario Yazbek Bernal (Duarte Barbosa)…
Magellan was chosen as the Philippines’ official entry for the Academy Award for Best International Film.
