Set in the 1970s in New York and Spain, Dalíland is told through the eyes of James (Briney), a young assistant at a New York gallery who's obliged to assist Salvador Dalí (Kingsley) for a gallery show and ends up immersed into the unconventional world of Dalí's bohemian lifestyle and his strange marriage to his wife Gala (Sukowa). After the exhibition, and with signs of increasing strain on the bond between Gala and Salvador, James follows the Dalís to Spain, where the painter later dies.[2]
The movie was largely filmed in Liverpool, which was used to double New York City.[7]
Release
Dalíland had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, 2022.[8] In November 2022, Magnolia Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film.[9] It received a theatrical and on-demand release on June 9, 2023.[10]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 70 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ben Kingsley adds some rich color to Dalíland's palette, but given the dynamic subject matter, this is a frustratingly bland biopic portrait."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12]
