Dalíland

Dalíland is a 2022 American biographical film directed by Mary Harron. It is based on the true story of the painter Salvador Dalí and his tempestuous marriage to muse and wife Gala during the 1970s. The film stars Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Alexander Beyer, Andreja Pejić, Suki Waterhouse, and Ezra Miller.

Dalíland had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, 2022 and was released in the United States on June 9, 2023 by Magnolia Pictures.

Plot

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.

Cast

Production

In May 2018, Ben Kingsley, Lesley Manville, Tim Roth, Frank Dillane and Ezra Miller joined the cast of the film, with Mary Harron directing from a screenplay by herself and John C. Walsh. Miller was initially cast as James by Harron, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with ', leading Harron to cast newcomer Christopher Briney. Miller was instead offered the role of a young Salvador Dalí (who's played by Ben Kingsley for most of the film in his later years), appearing only sparingly in some flashback sequences. In May 2021, Barbara Sukowa, Alexander Beyer, Avital Lvova, Christopher Briney, and Rupert Graves were added, while Andreja Pejić, Suki Waterhouse and Mark McKenna had replaced Manville, Roth and Dillane, and principal photography has been concluded.