Why You Should Watch Lav Diaz’s Magellan
Issue #9
Hello fellow Filipiniana fans,
My girlfriend and I watched Magellan on premiere night, September 10th. Watching a Lav Diaz film is an experience on its own. His work may not be everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny his unique artistic vision and approach to filmmaking. If you haven’t seen a Lav Diaz film, you might want to start with this one since Magellan is already one of his shortest and most accessible works!
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We watched the film at Edsa Shang. Not one poster or marketing material was in sight. On opening night! The film was screened internationally (Cannes, Sydney, Toronto, New York), and is scheduled for more festivals (Valladolid, London). It’s also our entry to the Oscars Best International Feature Film. But very few people here know about it because you don’t see it getting promoted as much as it should be!
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The morning after we watched it, my girlfriend told me she dreamed of the film. The same imagery and story played out in her dream. I thought it was a joke at first, but she said it was true. I told her, “I guess, sobrang haba talaga ng movies ni Lav Diaz. Kahit makatulog ka na, di pa rin tapos.”
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Halina!
-Roi
[🎬Film] Why You Should Watch Lav Diaz’s Magellan
In the preface of his annotation of Morga’s Events of the Philippine Islands, Rizal wrote, “if the work succeeds in arousing in yourselves the realization of our past, erased from the memory, and in rectifying what has been falsified and slandered, then my efforts shall not have been in vain. With this as a basis, however small it may be, we can all proceed to studying the future.”
I think you should watch Magellan in the same light. In the same way Rizal reclaimed our past from Morga, Diaz retells a story we already know, without the eurocentric bias.
His Magellan is not a hero who brought Spain glory, nor a larger-than-life villain that brave Cebuanos had to defeat. He is a man with his own imperfections who wanted to capitalize on Portugal’s and Spain’s greed. By focusing on him, Diaz parses colonialism from a human perspective, not as an evil that just happened naturally. It also retells the story of Cebuanos initially welcoming him then overcoming him, from the POV of their culture and belief.
You should also watch it for the vivid imagery. It is a cliche to talk about films where every frame is a painting, but Diaz’s shots simply leave you in awe. He utilizes space really well, strategically placing elements on the frame to tell a visual story.
Some viewers might find his signature long sequences frustrating and draggy, but I think they oddly reel you in, making you feel – not just see – the location, often in nature. The long takes with little movement feels more like an immersion. Suddenly you’re no longer watching a movie, but real life unfold on the screen. Characters move and emote the way they would without a camera; events play out on their own time.
Honestly, there are plenty of reasons to watch Magellan. The film being the Philippines’ entry to the 98th Oscars is of the lowest importance.
PS: At 160 minutes, Magellan is already one of his “shortest” and “most accessible” films. The original intention was to cut a 9-10-hour black-and-white film, but Cannes’ 3-hour limit forced him to shorten it. I’m still interested to see that movie, although I might have to do it in installments.
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Hi Roi, here were my immediate thoughts (from an FB thread):
Marc Abuan I watched it last night! I realized that I lost my ability to simply get lost inside a story related to 1521. My mind can't help putting itself in creator mode, wondering why Lav Diaz chose his particular interpretations. The best one I think was how he handled the buildup to the marooning of Juan de Cartegena and the priest. Diaz hewed closely to recorded history during the voyage. This makes me think that the reason for his Lapulapu take was due to constraints of the medium. This is the same constraints that disallowed him to show the scale of the interaction: around 500 from the Cebuano side and 150 from the Spanish side. Very much like a play. Another constraint in film is the difficulty of transporting the gaze of the modern viewer. We (or at least l) only see savages and savage Christians. But what I really wanted to experience was how 16th century Sugboanons and 16th century conquistadors saw themselves and the world. I have no idea how you can do this with film. A space opera might work. But I felt it was doable with a novel and this is what I attempted. Anyhow, I'll just enjoy it vicariously through your interpretation. I hope though you check out RVC. It has a lot of Girard and Nietzsche in it!
I see your interest in Filipino history and culture with your posts. Happy to send you a copy of the book if you'd like, as it probably aligns with what your are doing in this substack!