The Lost City of Z (2017)

Review

141min

Genre:       Fact-based, Adventure, Drama

Director:    James Gray

Cast:         Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson…and more

Writers:     James Gray and David Grann

-Synopsis-

Charlie Hunnam stars in an period adventure adapted from David Grann’s book and based on the real life exploits of intrepid British early 20th century explorer Lt. Colonel Percival Fawcett—who mysteriously disappeared while searching for an ancient mythical city in the depths of the Amazon.

Perhaps a curious choice to craft a lyrical and dramatic ode to a classical explorer—given his history of crime dramas and romances—writer/director James Gray takes the helm of this cinematic voyage and adapts Grann’s bestselling book ‘The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon’, unravelling the mysteries of Fawcett’s fate and painting a romantic portrait of the intrepid explorer who hugely influenced subsequent arts & sciences, while psychologically deconstructing the few but determined men of history like him.

British film actor and American TV star Hunnan (Green Street, Sons of Anarchy) stars as Percival Fawcett himself; a well-bred Victorian-era surveyor and explorer in his younger years, now a British army officer, husband to wife Nina (Sienna Miller) and a family man, with a determination to leave his mark in history and restore his family’s good name—who’s given the opportunity to do so with an expedition to map a disputed and uncharted area of the Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

Accompanied by right-hand-man Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) and a small team, his arduous voyage soon turns into an obsession and many subsequent expeditions over decades, after he finds evidence of a lost city and civilisation in the depths of the jungle, sparking a preoccupation which would capture the imagination of the public and dominate his life all the way through to its mysterious end . . . or was it?

As with most films about adventure and discovery in an inhospitable environment, the huge challenge of filming ‘The Lost City of Z’ is a reflection of how monumental the real endeavours must have been for those involved 100 years ago—but if you’re expecting a light entertainment voyage of discovery or some non-stop peril and action, you might be disappointed to find a far more nuanced affair here.

This is much more of a deliberating personality study within a historical context than the flashy two minute trailer might suggest, amounting to more of a contemplative character portrait than the type of rip-roaring adventure fiction which Fawcett’s exploits inspired—from Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Lost World’ to ‘Indiana Jones’—and even unfolds in part as a family drama, with Fawcett forsaking his loved ones for his expeditions . . . not to mention his quest being interrupted by the breakout of the ‘Great War’ and his duty to King & country.

Despite the fact that this is a story of human character and obsession, grittily grounded in history, ‘The Lost City of Z’ is steeped in legend and mythology, particularly that of ‘El Dorado’ and the Spanish conquistador search for a lost city of gold—although Fawcett never subscribes to this—but also in terms of the final fate of the man, which is speculative and shrouded in mystery. A fact which the writers and director use to their advantage by crafting an ambiguous conclusion and taking a measure of artistic license.

Indeed the mystery and the ‘voyage of no return’ element of the narrative are what gives the film an extra edge and what make the story so enduring, but ‘The Lost City of Z’ is also a meditation on the simultaneous beauty and brutality of exploration and discovery—particularly in the context of colonialism and conquest. The story strongly reflects the legacy of empire and the arrogance of the stiff upper-lipped British establishment of the time, in terms of their view of less advances cultures—or ‘savages’ as they branded them—something which Fawcett sought to change through the discovery of a complex civilisation more ancient than the British, where it was thought none could exist.

There’s also a sombre tone which runs through the film and reflects the ruthless conditions men like Fawcett had to endure for their obsessions—and the madness which often resulted from the struggle—with clear parallels of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ to be drawn with this jungle river voyage through the impenetrable forest . . . and by association echoes of ‘Apocalypse Now’ too.

All of which serves to illuminate—albeit also romanticise—the character of Fawcett and contemporaries like Scott and Shackleton. Well-bred, educated men living comfortable lives of privilege, who are somehow drawn like moths to a flame to the opportunity of extreme challenge and discovery, driven by a curious sense of pride at being the first to do something and confounding the naysayers, while making an indelible mark on the world  . . . often at any cost.

However despite the vivid visuals captured by veteran cinematographer Darius Khondji (Se7en, The Beach), solid performances and all the other merits of James Gray’s adaptation, the film is lacking in the traditional adventure stakes—with little dramatic build up and very few genuine thrills, let alone an epic conclusion or any type of immediate narrative payoff. Nor is it the transcendental or transformative true story Amazonian journey that last year’s ‘Embrace of the Serpent‘ was—for both the characters and the audience. Yet there’s still enough here to make it a nuanced and adventurous enough character study, and a worthwhile if not spectacular branching out from Plan B Entertainment and their founder Brad Pitt.

The Bottom Line…

Although the subject of false advertising in terms of not boasting an engrossing momentum and not really succeeding as a traditional adventure film—‘The Lost City of Z’ is nevertheless a captivating and well-crafted character drama, an insightful personal portrait and a fascinating profile of a unique breed of man . . . the intrepid old world explorer.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Embrace of the Serpent (2015) (Spanish & other languages)

In early 20th Century South American rainforests; an American biologist enlists the help of an old indigenous isolated Amazonian shaman, to recreate a journey he took 40 years earlier with a German ethnologist to find a rare and powerful plant—in an adventure drama loosely based on the experiences of scientists and academics Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes.

Directed by Ciro Guerra and starring Brionne Davis, Jan Bijvoet and Nilbio Torres among others.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.