The Lost City of Z
At the dawn of the 20th century, British explorer Percy Fawcett journeys into the Amazon, where he discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment, which views indigenous populations as savages, the determined Fawcett, supported by his devoted wife, son, and aide-de-camp, returns to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case.
The Good: Filmakers stretching a meager budget to the gritty limits. The art of story telling isn’t dead and doesn’t require CGI.
The Bad: There is slow. Then there is checking your watch every few minutes to see how long you’ve been in the theater slow.
The Ugly: Mixed marketing left the film, and the audience, in a search for it’s identity. Younger fans of Marvel action movies wanted a hard core action flick, while seated next to me was a couple in their 80’s on a date. Yes, they felt compelled to talk through the entire movie. Yes ma’am, I see the snake in the jungle too. Thank you, please STFU.
Side Quest: While there seemed to be three distinct acts in the movie, the third act never really delivers the pay off.
Writer and director, James Gray, recently said, “As THE LOST CITY OF Z made its long and arduous journey to the screen, the film became something of an obsession for me – fitting, I suppose, given its subject. Percy Fawcett’s preoccupation with the Amazon and its peoples was motivated by many factors, and his story is marked by incredible twists and turns. But when I read David Grann’s book, one idea struck me as particularly worthy of exploration: here was a person for whom the search meant everything. His dream of finding an ancient Amazonian civilization sustained him through unimaginable hardships, the skepticism of the scientific community, startling betrayals and years spent away from his family.”
The Lost City of Z timeline
1905: Major Percy Fawcett, stationed in Cork, Ireland, with his wife Nina and young son Jack, trains members of the British Army.
March 1906: In London, the Royal Geographical Society asks Fawcett to map uncharted territory in the rainforest in Brazil and Bolivia.
July 1906: Starting in Bolivia, Fawcett and surveying partner Henry Costin trek through the rainforest on a mission to trace the Rio Verde to its origins.
1908: Fawcett returns to England proclaiming his belief in a lost South American civilization.
May 1912: Fawcett leads his second expedition through the Amazon rainforest with Henry Costin and James Murray in search of the “Lost City of Z.”
June 28, 1914: Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, igniting World War I and compelling Fawcett’s return to England.
September 28, 1916: Leading a charge against German soldiers, Fawcett is wounded. Upon his return, he is promoted to Lt. Colonel.
1923: A newspaper reporter interviews Fawcett at his country home in Stoke Canon about future plans and competing expeditions.
April 1925: In search of the Lost City of Z, Fawcett, traveling with his grown son Jack through the Amazon rainforest, writes his final letter home before mysteriously disappearing.
1954: Nina Fawcett dies.
The Lost City of Z is available for purchase on Amazon.com in paperback for $7.29.
