User Reviews

As noted in some other reviews, the film covers some aspects of Dali's life that are fascinating, in particular his complex relationship with Gala, his muse / lover / mother figure. The film also touches on the massive amounts of fraud occurring with Dali lithographs and prints, though it doesn't do much with this angle. So if you don't know the Dali story, this will be informational, at least about his later years. If you do know the Dali story, you will recognize the truth and have a richer experience.

While enjoyable, this film has a major structural problem. It focuses on a young person being brought into the world of Dali, and serving as our proxy as we learn about Dali, Gala and their struggles. This is a common storytelling tactic (used recently, for example, in both The Exception and Il Cattivo Poeta), but it's unnecessary and diverts attention from what we really came to see. No one will go this film for the young person's story, they will go for the Dali story.

Greetings again from the darkness. Sure, it's an unusual approach; however, when it comes to Salvador Dali, the eccentric and iconic Spanish surrealist, a 'normal' introduction simply won't do. Director Mary Harron (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL 1996, AMERICAN PSYCHO 2000, THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE 2005) shrewdly opts for an opening scene of the artist appearing on the classic TV game show, "What's My Line?". Lead actor Ben Kingsley (Oscar winner for GANDHI, 1982) has been superimposed over the familiar archival footage as he mimics the artist's actual answers more than 60 years ago.

Screenwriter John Walsh (director Harron's husband) structures the story around James (newcomer Christopher Briney), a young man Dali selects as his new assistant ... and nicknames San Sebastian. This approach makes some sense as Dali was seemingly always on display and viewed as a curiosity to most. Yet James turns out to be the least interesting character on screen, and we wish for less of him and more of Dali, or Dali's wife Gala, or Dali's transgender nurse and muse Amanda Lear (Andreja Pejic), or even the flashbacks with Ezra Miller and Avital Lvova as young Dali and Gala.

It's 1974 and "Welcome to Daliland" is how James is first invited into the St. Regis Hotel suite where Dali spent winters in New York City for forty years. Production Designer Isona Rigau captures the essence of the hotel, especially during the infamous parties thrown by Dali ... even as Gala urged him to focus on work. Gala, played exceedingly well by Barbara Sukowa (HANNAH ARENDT, 2012), and Dali, show us the ups and downs of a codependent arrangement. She is shown pushing him towards success, and also at least partially responsible for his burnout and decline. Money was a constant battle as both enjoyed the high life. Dali loved the parties, while Gala enjoyed the company of younger men. The long-rumored signatures on blank canvas and the uncashed personal checks with the valuable signature are both addressed here.

Although it's been forty years since Sir Ben Kingsley won his Oscar, he still knows how to seize a character and fill the screen. Not only does he embrace the pumped-up ego of a genius, he also conveys the worst fear of an artist - a tremor in his painting hand ... although, to be fair, his fear of abandonment might have been even stronger. This is a man who knows he's approaching the end of his career and life, but chooses to live until he can't.

The flashbacks and the artsy moments where Dali conducts the wind from atop a seaside cliff are creative inserts worthy of one viewed as an icon, rather than as a man. Watching Dali hum while he works, or dominate a moment with his verbosity, or become emotional with Gala, all combine to provide a glimpse into Dali, the man and the artist.

In theaters and On Demand beginning June 9, 2023.

I remember being taught about Salvadore Dalí in high school (decades ago!) and was intrigued by his surrealist art. But I have never known much about him as a person. Dalíland is a captivating drama that delves into this man's life and artistic journey. Dalí was an influential and controversial figure of the 20th century. This film explores Dalí's years in Spain, followed by his remarkable ascent to fame in Paris as a key leader of the surrealist movement. Throughout his journey, we witness the complexities of his relationships with family, his muse Gala and fellow artists like Luis Buñuel and Federico García Lorca. The movie delves into Dalí's artistic process, eccentric personality, and unyielding fascination with immortality.

Directed by Mary Harron, known for her work on films like Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page, Dalí boasts meticulous attention to detail and a delightful touch of humour that perfectly captures the essence of Dalí's whimsical world. Visually striking with its colour palette and imaginative interpretations of Dalí's paintings, this film showcases the impeccable cinematography by Marcel Zyskind, which masterfully juxtaposes realism with surrealism within each scene. Isona Rigau's remarkable production design flawlessly recreates settings and costumes with precision and flair. The special effects employed are also noteworthy in those mesmerising moments where Dalí's paintings spring to life.

The movie showcases a cast led by Ben Kingsley in the role of Dalí. Kingsley delivers a captivating portrayal capturing the complexity and charisma of this genius madman. He skillfully embodies Dalí's mannerisms, accent and expressions with subtlety. He effectively conveys Dalí's emotions, from passion and joy to fear and loneliness. Supporting Kingsley is Barbara Sukowa, as Gala, who delivers a sympathetic performance as Dalí's partner (Dalí would have been almost impossible to live with). Manville portrays Gala's intelligence, charm, and ambition while expressing her frustration and pain at being overshadowed by Dalís fame and eccentricity. There's a large supporting cast, all putting in good performances.

Unfortunately, Dalí sometimes suffers from a lack of focus and coherence; it jumps from one episode to another without a clear narrative thread. It also attempts to cover too much ground within its two-hour runtime resulting in a superficial overview that feels disjointed. The movie also misses the chance to delve into some of Dalí's aspects, like his beliefs, sexual orientation, and exploitation of Gala. These issues are either skimmed over or lightly touched upon in the film missing out on an opportunity to present a critical perspective on Dalí. Despite the events in Dalí's life, the film lacks impact. It fails to make us truly care about Dalí or his relationships, leaving us detached and indifferent.

Dalíland is a film with potential but falls way short of its ambitions. It is visually stunning and entertaining as it showcases Dalís artistry and personality, but it also comes across as shallow and fragmented, unable to capture the essence and significance of Dalí. While it may appeal to fans of Dalí and surrealism, it may disappoint those seeking insights into one of history's captivating artists.

To the last scene , I was in serious doubts if Sir Ben Kingsley was the most inspired option for the role of Salvador Dali. And, indeed, I have serious reseves about this behind the end . But I am convince than he deserves this role.

But I admired the beautiful portrait of Gaa offered by Barbara Sukowa and the effort of Christopher Briney, like the interesting portrait of Amanda Lear or Rupert Graves as Captain Moore. Or cinematography . Few good points of film.

For admirers of Master, the film can sound as impolite. It is only...ironic,a film about art industry, court around a star, naivety becoming lucid discover of reality , a notebook with signatures , a pretty movie using the familiar recipe of young man discovering the univers of a kind of sacre monstre.

Reailsm ? Not exactly. Maybe, colors . Or only honest try to recreate a period and give coherence to the traits of a genius. With acceptable results.

In essence, a kick to discover the real Dali.

You have seen this a million times before: young mangenue enters the magical world of X where things he couldn't have ever imagined change his vision of the world and inspire him to greatness. This time is a young beautiful boy from New York who gets to be part of Dali's world at the end of his career. And just like any young person he wants to feel special and part of something greater than himself, only to realize that it's all a facade behind which people are still regular old people.

The formula has been used again and again and again because it works, but you have to implement it in a way that captivates and inspires. You have to make art if you want to showcase art, even if it is a cheap copy of other great films in the genre you have to at least reach that level of competence. Unfortunately Daliland feels just as naive as the main character is supposed to be, wanting to be more than it is without effort and realizing no one thinks they're special. And funnily enough, the ending of the film does involve cheap knock-offs of Dali's work, which felt inadvertently hilarious.

Ben Kingsley is his usual good actor, without aspiring to greatness, Barbara Sukowa too, the rest of the cast are more props than anything else. And Christopher Briney is the perfect casting choice for the lead role: a pretty face. The sets are good, yet feel cheap all the same. The entire production feels a carbon copy of something better that you've seen before.

Bottom line: I don't recommend the film.

My Review - Daliland My Rating 7/10 Streaming on Foxtel

If I think of Salvador Dali I immediately think of the word bizarre and that's exactly how Oscar winner Ben Kingsley portrays the famous Spanish surrealist artist Dali.

This movie depicting Salvador Dali's final years with flashbacks to his youth when his younger self played by Ezra Miller meets his muse poet Gala who later in 1935 became his wife and greatest source of inspiration.

The movie begins in 1973 New York when a young handsome gallery assistant James Linton meets the famous 70 year old colourful eccentric artist Salvador Dali who refers to him from then on as Angel.

James Linton is played very effectively by Christopher Briney a fashionably charismatic slightly androgynous looking new actor who currently has a featured role as Aaron Samuels in the movie Mean Girls a teen musical.

The Dali's are both well past their prime but delight in giving extravagant parties attended by A list celebrities and the pop stars and models to be found at Studio 54 Gala played by Barbara Sukowa was apparently Salvador Dali's only sexual partner is described as having the "libido of an electric eel" Gala becomes infatuated with Jeff Fenholt played by Zachary Nachbar-Seckel whose fame is his role as Jesus on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar .

Dali invites Angel to assist him prepare for an important exhibition and they all return to Figueres in Spain which is Dali's birthplace.

This is the most interesting part of this movie as Dali revisits his youth when he first meets Gala and the relationships between the main characters develop.

I enjoyed seeing Rupert Graves again in Daliland playing Captain Moore who was Salvador Dali's business manager until he falls from grace .

I enjoyed Daliland directed by Mary Harron and written by John Walsh .

I must rewatch Little Ashes the 2008 movie starring Robert Pattinson as Dali which covers the young life of Salvador Dali .

I hope to visit the Salvador Dali museum this year in Figueres, Spain so these 2 movies greatly interested me .

To be straight, I like some of Dali's work, but I'm not broadly a huge fan, nor do I presume he was without many faults and conceits. That said, it seems like this movie goes out of its way to pretty much exclusively depict negative aspects of Dali's existence. This might have been tolerable if it was done with some humor or intrigue, but it's all executed joylessly with a totally uninvested surface treatment.

The supporting cast is without much charisma or reason for interest. What characterization does exist is created with broad and boring strokes of writing. Ezra Miller as young Dali was a bit of stunt casting gone wrong -- especially given that his portions add very little to the story.

On the production side, there is a lot of misplaced licensed music, very questionable editing and some very amateurish seeming cinematography and color correction. The sum of all the parts is little more than a forgettable lost opportunity. I'd recommend watching one of the many interviews with Dali on Youtube instead.

Or just real? Whatever the case: definitely no pun intended. Just saying, before this comes up. Now I am not too familiar with Dali myself - I wouldn't have been able to tell you corner facts on him, just knew the basics. I suppose (and reading reviews manifests that feeling) that if one knows him better they will be able to take way more out of the movie.

That said, Ben Kingsley is amazing as ever. While seemingly another character is the main one (the "trick" of focusing on someone else than the genius has been used before - with Amadeus, the movie for example), Ben is stealing the show. His wife also plays a major part - not always in his life or his art, but for the movie. Again, not sure how much of what we get to see is based on truth ... how free they handled facts ... movies tend to heighten stuff ... for entertainment or other purposes.

If you are into biopics ... well you do not need me to give you a thumbs up ... but if you can read into Dali before watching this .. just so you are prepared ... Homework? Well how committed are you? Exactly ... also an issue with Salvatore ...

I enjoyed this movie, but I doubt that many other people will. As a New Yorker who has worked in the arts, I know something about the milieu and the people depicted, so I had the background to appreciate it. But to most people, I think, it will be unintelligible. Basically, the situation is that a young and inexperienced would-be artist ("James") is hired to be an assistant to elderly surrealist Salvador Dali (Ben Kingsley), once an enfant terrible of the art world, now generally regarded by the cognoscenti as a has-been and a hack, despite being known and loved by the hoi polloi and a darling of the paparazzi. The assistant's duty is to keep Dali working. Dali is easily distracted by the constant bohemian circus going on around him. Dali's wife Gala (well-played by Barbara Sukowa) is really the one who pulls the strings. She collects and counts the money. She is also a horny old lady with a taste for beautiful young men. James (who is indeed a beautiful young man) is warned NOT to sleep with her and NOT to offend her. Dali, it turns out, doesn't really engage in sex himself. He is basically a voyeur and a masturbator. But he adores and depends on Gala. Gala's current paramour is an actor named Jeff Fenholt, who is playing the title role on Broadway in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. There are other issues going on, like forgery and fraud, and money-laundering. It ought to be more interesting. But it's not. I think the main reason it doesn't work is that it's unstructured. Virtually everything is given the same weight. What's important doesn't stand out, but blends in with the scenery. Acting (especially Sukowa, Kingsley, and Chris Briney as James), art direction, cinematography, and music are all excellent, but who cares?

Daliland - to see a genus at work is a real treat. He may have been mad - but who isn't? And he got well paid for it!

Ben Kingsley is one of Britain's finest actors his breadth of work is astonishing and well deserved of the "Sir" title.

This film traces Dali in the height of his career whilst also exposes - perhaps for the first time the intricacies and complications even contradictions of one of the worlds most famous men (of all time)

I never understood his work / but I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone curious about one of the 20th Century's most infamous figures.

Biopic drama "Daliland" is to Salvador Dali what "My Week With Marilyn" was to Marilyn Monroe, as a fresh-faced lad (Christopher Briny) enthusiastically but naively enters (in 1974) the orbit of a living icon (Ben Kingsley (and Ezra Miller in brief flashbacks)) alongside Dali's wife Barbara Sukowa, manager Rupert Graves, muse Andreja Pejic, & many beautiful and/or famous youths (like Suki Waterhouse & Alice Cooper (Mark McKenna)) partying it up in decadent debauchery... while behind the scenes all ain't quite as it seems. Director Mary Harron & writer John Walsh give an interesting take on a fascinating character, tho only real Dali fans will be blown away by it.

I had no idea what to expect on viewing this movie, but I was not at all disappointed.

It was fantastic and so very well filmed.

We see little of the genius at work, instead what we have is a peek into the mind of Dali, and his followers.

The film reminds me that some people have minds that simply work differently from yours and mine.

The great geniuses see the world differently than we do. In other eras I am sure some of these geniuses would be unrecognized and cast out as insane.

And it has occurred to me that many such persons die early.

There is a price to pay for fame and genius.

Anyway, the acting was terrific, I actually felt like I was back in the 70s again in some of the scenes.

And the filming is most beautiful.

All in all a great movie that should be enjoyed by all.

Iconic canvas "The Persistence of Memory" (melty clocks) is key to a flashback of lifelong lovers Dali and Gala bond over his genius, yet it is shown in disappointing silhouette, sucking the life right out of the scene. Any film featuring a grand master should be swimming with his art, for without it he is just a man, and in this case, a bit of a buffoon. The lack of visual masterpieces in this late life biopic is truly embarrassing.

As an emperor without art (clothes), Dali prances around his over the top parties, directing young pretty things for his voyeuristic pleasures. Mod pop fills the soundtrack whilst seventies overindulgence flows freely. Fun! Fun for a minute at best, yet with no proper follow through. "Daliland" offers no clue as to the genius here, or even a hint of what makes the cartoony Dali tick. A film about Dali, one of the greatest artists of all time, without exploring Dali. Weird.

Mary Harron has directed better - "I Shot Andy Warhol" - but not for quite a spell. No comeback here am afraid. Exploring Dali's latter career spiral through the eyes of a young gallery assistant is ripe for adventure: the eye candy, the groovy characters, the debauchery, the cocaine, and yet it is quite lifeless. Boring actually. Worse, Ben Kingsley and Barbara Sukowa as the bickersons are dreadfully one dimensional, taking turns in an overacting contest. They both win, and the movie loses. What a frustrating stumble.

A film rife with juicy ingredients ready to burst from the screen in a rainbow of colourful magic, is instead a quick remedy for insomnia troubles. Hiss.

• hipCRANK.

It's almost voyeuristic but not in a good way. Not the kind of curiosity you might have as a young one who is getting into the world of art. It's uncomfortable to watch, as it is watching someone you love embarrassing themselves during a drunken night.

The focus of the movie is not s flattering one, but seems more like a smear campaign against the memory of Dali and Gala.

I can't believe that with the copious amounts of information and anecdotes of this contemporary artists, they did so little.

This movie is upsetting and since it's clear that the idea wasn't to honor anyone, then i guess they accomplished their goal.

I really wanted to like this film and it's not a film I wouldn't want to watch again. I usually reserve my 5 stars ratings for films that are "good but that I don't want to watch again".

In Daliland we have some great acting by Kingsley and Barbara Sukowa, actually some great settings and scenes (the laughing fit when Dali meets Gala for the first time!), and the film is overall entertaining. I probably would watch it again.

Still, the film feels like a mediocre and slightly "cheesy" and somehow uninspired execution of a great story, and it's difficult to pinpoint this to a single factor. I'll try to give an overview:

• Most of the actors besides Kingsley and Stukowa are not really convincing

• All the music they've used in the film feels like it's supposed to be provisional fill-ins. Did they run out of money to buy better music or was it just bad taste? Most of the music is generic Rock, and Alice Cooper's "School's Out for Summer" feels completely out of place.

• The editing and pacing feels off. It feels like they came to a rough cut and then they ran out of interesting ideas. Especially the last scene feels underwhelming. What could have been a grande last scene feels like something you'd expect to see in a student's movie.

• I still don't get that second sex-scene, it feels completely out of place and unnecessary, as if they just put it in to make the film 3 minutes longer

• The camera-work is mostly uninspired (see: last scene)

This film is still enjoyable and watchable, but after watching it you'll automatically have the feeling: "well, they could have done that better".

Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Alexander Beyer, Andreja Pejic, Suki Waterhouse and Ezra Miller are in the cast in this 2023 film directed by Canadian screenwriter and director Mary Harron.

Magnolia Pictures distributed the film, which opened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which is a very interesting choice for them.

It is certain that all the works that use the 1970s New York and Spain as a set and Dali as the subject of his story in one way or another have the same problem...

What's that?

At the point where today's cinema has reached, it is an effort to tell a name like Dali, who has become a legend both in the art environment, in history and in pop-culture, with his perspective and language of expression...

Naturally, this does not fit because Dali is one of the names that set those standards.

The only person who can benefit from works that can describe Dali in the standards set by Dali is Dali himself... many of his works are still pregnant with ongoing debates.

Ben Kingsley did his best as usual, yes, the movie can be considered successful in terms of cinematography (Marcel Zyskind)... But we were not one in the script (John C. Walsh) part.

I can't understand why a person like John C. Walsh, who has worked in mediocre jobs, has such a mission.

Naturally, the movie can't promise anything other than its mediocre line.

How can a film about Salvador Dali be so boring and bland? I know a little about the artist, and this film has literally not taught me anything new. I don't know why we're expected to care about the "romance" between the assistant ( whose entire acting range is either a smile, or a confused pout) and the stereotypical blonde hanger on character. It is also painfully clear that they couldn't get the rights to use any classic Dali paintings, so the "this is a painting that no one will ever forget" scene suffers as you don't get to see the work that inspired such a passionate reaction. It's dull.

If you saw Almost Famous, you've seen this movie. That's it. It's a tedious story told through the eyes of a young and beautiful artistic ingenue, dazzled by sordid drama and high camp of the tortured artist and his entourage and the soul crush of the business behind art. And you've seen it before, the scenes of the beautiful people writhing in soft focus dance, the artist posed before his work in moments of deeply mysterious contemplation. And because this is just a sloppy mess, it comes across as millenial era creatives filming pretty people romping through a designer wardrobe closet from the 1970's, playing dressup in pretty clothes as if it recreates something meaningful. A boring derivative costume drama about an eccentric surrealist. A most complete package of missed opportunities in story telling and performing, The cast used as props.

DALILAND starts out looking pretty dreadful to be honest. Kingsley's large nose is certainly off-putting though does play the part well. But it just looks like a cheap and tacky low budget biopic. Things do, however, pick up in the second half of the film. The main actor playing James Linton is well cast, as is actor playing Gala in all her horrible glory.

Ultimately what really should be a 3 hour film is crammed into far less screen time. As much as Dali squandered his gifts and shielded his neuroses by turning himself into an artworld clown, he still was a a major celebrity of the C20th and I still await a definitive film that tells his story, warts and all.

Although Ben Kingsley is a great actor, in this movie he was wrongly cast for the role of Dali. Generally, Ben Kingsley and Barbara Sukowa are the wrong combination. They are good in doing their job, but they just don't fit into this one! Here everything is somehow thrown, which is even the opposite of Dali himself. In all that mess there is the lack of Dali's visual masterpieces. He is portrayed as a person who does not know how to present his artistic ideas, what is truly embarrassing when you want to describe one of the greatest artists. Maybe I expected too much, because I really adore Dali's works, although for many he was a plagiarist, practically.

Events depicted in this film are real, this is not a sugar coated 'mummsy' sentimental bio pic. Kingsley is Dali, Dali is Kingsley - a masterwork in observation of the legendary,tortured / mad / genius artist (delete as applicable) . Watch this and watch Dali at work and at play,, the great hedonist, the sad masturbator, the prodigious artist, a master of the photorealistic depiction of the seemingly mad, mad world that surrounded and stimulated his mind through his lifetime. A leader in surreal art a thoroughly likeable /unlikeable individual - like Marmite, you love him or hate him, but you can't fail not to notice Dali. And Ben Kingsley is superb in his depiction of him, , Sukowa too, as his muse Gala - both characters depicted, are so real, you almost want to be part of their bizarre swinging 60s/70s/80's coterie, they are vile and wonderful all at the same time.they depict the true meaning of what it takes to be an acolyte of Salvador Dali / Avida Dollars (Look it up) Its good to see Kingsley actually acting well for a change, I was in despair at viewing - the last ten or so of his films, have for me, been lamentable experiences - thank you Mr Kingsley for bringing Dali back to life and I hope reviving your career on an 'end note' as a great actor.

I expected to be bored but actually really enjoyed the movie. Considering it had a limited budget, I think they did a great job in pretty much every department. Set visuals are great, camera and editing too, music and sound is perfect, story flows fast unlike in some other biographical dramas, but what this film really relies on are the actors - all of the main actors performances are absolutely brilliant. I especially enjoyed Ben Kingsley who at times managed to make me both laugh and be sad at the same time which felt like a new emotion to me when watching a movie and for that I thank him (also the writers). After watching I can't imagine anyone else ever playing Dalí. Great watch!