Magellan

A grand visual odyssey exposes the violence and lust for power behind the heroic myths of early European expansion, as Lav Diaz examines Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world.

The 1500s. With the blessing of the Spanish crown, the Portuguese navigator Magellan (Gael García Bernal) sets sail for Southeast Asia — in the name of God and the crown — to seek new trade routes and attempt to convert local populations to Christianity. But the wrath of the awe-inspiring natural world and the islanders’ unyielding resistance push the colonial leader into paranoia, and the expedition toward its fateful end. The Philippines’ critically acclaimed Oscar submission is a relentless reckoning with the brutality of colonialism, and a breathtaking historical journey into the heart of darkness.

• Rasmus Kilander