Need to see this in a cinema yesterday

Need to see this in a cinema yesterday

My ancestors are probably fuming before and happy after right now, since in almost 26 years of my existence I’ve never watched a Filipino movie in cinemas as a Filipino. I’ve been avoiding them, as if watching one would burn my eyes.

Lav Diaz, a prominent Filipino filmmaker famous for his lengthy films, recently made a “short” film (almost three hours—probably short for him) that garnered buzz both locally and internationally. Because it only had a limited theatrical release here in the Philippines, I had to watch it.

Not gonna lie, I only knew that he shoots long, still takes—and that they make me sleep. Not bored sleep, but trance-like sleep, especially during the first hour of the film, because of the unique way Lav Diaz captures everything.

From the voyage up until the death of Magellan, even though this happened almost 500 years ago, it’s funny how the state of the Philippines feels almost the same then and now—from rejecting and fearing what’s new to clinging to outdated traditions (I get that this was the 1500s and their customs belong to their time, but that’s just my interpretation).

Thank you, Lav Diaz, and Philippine cinema. I now truly know that our country can—and will—produce great films, like before.

My ancestors are probably fuming before and happy after right now, since in almost 26 years of my existence I’ve never watched a Filipino movie in cinemas as a Filipino. I’ve been avoiding them, as if watching one would burn my eyes.

Lav Diaz, a prominent Filipino filmmaker famous for his lengthy films, recently made a “short” film (almost three hours—probably short for him) that garnered buzz both locally and internationally. Because it only had a limited theatrical release here in the Philippines, I had to watch it.

Not gonna lie, I only knew that he shoots long, still takes—and that they make me sleep. Not bored sleep, but trance-like sleep, especially during the first hour of the film, because of the unique way Lav Diaz captures everything.

From the voyage up until the death of Magellan, even though this happened almost 500 years ago, it’s funny how the state of the Philippines feels almost the same then and now—from rejecting and fearing what’s new to clinging to outdated traditions (I get that this was the 1500s and their customs belong to their time, but that’s just my interpretation).

Thank you, Lav Diaz, and Philippine cinema. I now truly know that our country can—and will—produce great films, like before.

a vessel of impermanence,
creaking through salt and old empires,
a spinning compass in calloused hands,
blood in the tide

a vessel of impermanence,
creaking through salt and old empires,
a spinning compass in calloused hands,
blood in the tide

Theatre etiquette died with us that day

Theatre etiquette died with us that day

Magellan by Lav Diaz is a cinematic experience that feels lived rather than watched, its atmosphere stripped almost entirely of music so that silence becomes immersive and every scene, though slow, unfolds with a striking sense of reality, as if you were physically present within it. The cinematography is mesmerizing, with each frame resembling a carefully composed painting that captures both the beauty and harshness of its world. Beneath it all, the story leans into themes of colonization, not as grand spectacle but as something human, uneasy, and deeply reflective. At the center, Gael García Bernal delivers a restrained yet powerful performance that blends into the landscape and narrative itself, becoming part of the film’s dense and absorbing atmosphere.

94/100

Magellan by Lav Diaz is a cinematic experience that feels lived rather than watched, its atmosphere stripped almost entirely of music so that silence becomes immersive and every scene, though slow, unfolds with a striking sense of reality, as if you were physically present within it. The cinematography is mesmerizing, with each frame resembling a carefully composed painting that captures both the beauty and harshness of its world. Beneath it all, the story leans into themes of colonization, not as grand spectacle but as something human, uneasy, and deeply reflective. At the center, Gael García Bernal delivers a restrained yet powerful performance that blends into the landscape and narrative itself, becoming part of the film’s dense and absorbing atmosphere.

94/100