Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Drama depicts wild 1970s art scene; sex, drugs, smoking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Daliland
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
It's 1974, and art gallery assistant James (Christopher Briney) is instructed to deliver a package to renowned artist Salvador Dali (Ben Kingsley). When the artist and his wife, Gala (Barbara Sukowa), take a shine to James, Dali hires the young man as his personal assistant. Soon James realizes he isn't just working for Dali -- he's becoming a part of DALILAND.
Is It Any Good?
Salvador Dali intentionally lived life as one big bang, but director Mary Harron's cruel depiction shoots him in the back long after he's dead. Her film is about the art of the fake: How fake art and fake images are sold and believed to be the real thing. In both cases, Dali isn't seen as a conductor, orchestrating moves out of strategy or the confidence he always espoused, but rather as a victim of his own insecurities.
He and Gala are depicted as holding on with desperation to their youth, using their money, fame, and prominence to keep Dali surrounded by glamorous young people during the most hedonistic era of modern times. And then doing whatever it takes to support that lifestyle. But don't expect meaningful insight into what made Dali so imaginative or talented, or much exploration into his technique (although one scene does show him "at work"). The film's explanation of who Dali was just seems to underline how Harron and her screenwriter husband John C. Walsh are now making his worst fears into reality. And why? Whether or not you like Dali as an artist or a person, he was an original and he was spectacular. He deserved something different than this bland drama.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether Daliland glamorizes drinking, drug use, and smoking. How has knowledge of the consequences of drug use and smoking evolved since 1974?
Why do you think artists are generally portrayed in the media as tragic figures -- and do you think Dali was one?
Talk about the way that pop star/Dali muse Amanda Lear is portrayed. While Lear has denied that she had gender-confirmation surgery, others in the queer community swear she is trans, and Andreja Pejic, who is trans, plays her. Why does representation matter, and how does this casting choice affect the authenticity of the story?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 9, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : June 9, 2023
- Cast : Ben Kingsley , Christopher Briney , Barbara Sukowa
- Director : Mary Harron
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Indian/South Asian Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Magnolia Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Arts , History
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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