- Based on the book by David Grann, James Gray's The Lost City of Z relates the adventures of real-life British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) and his dangerous obsession with exploring the uncharted Amazon. As presented in the film, the details of Fawcett's life are relatively straightforward, namely that he habitually ditches his wife Nina (Sienna Miller) and children (the eldest of whom is played by Tom Holland) in England in order to run off and explore the boundary between Brazil and Bolivia. On his first trip, undertaken at the behest of the Royal Geographical Society, Fawcett meets lifelong fellow adventurers Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) and Arthur Manley (Edward Ashley). It is also on his first visit that Fawcett becomes obsessed with what he calls "The Lost City of Zed".
- Just to be clear, it is never obvious that any such city exists. Fawcett's obsession, encouraged by the overconfident heel Lord Murray (Angus Macfadyen), derives primarily from a handful of artifacts and stories that several characters accurately compare to the legends of El Dorado. Still, Fawcett never shies away from returning and even develops a genuine talent for establishing positive relations with the native tribes. In fact, the only event capable of interrupting Fawcett's recurring travels is the outbreak of World War I, where Fawcett is injured in a gas attack at the Battle of the Somme. For him, the Great War is further evidence that the so-called primitives of South America could easily be more civilized than the nations of Europe. After recovering from his wounds, Fawcett even convinces his son to accompany him on what would become his final excursion into the unknown.
- While it suffers from natural comparisons with Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, both of which are undeniably superior versions of similar stories, I can honestly say that The Lost City of Z is the best movie I've seen about Amazon exploration that wasn't directed by Werner Herzog. Gray and cinematographer Darius Khondji do an excellent job capturing the natural wonders of Colombia (standing in for Fawcett's actual stomping grounds) and the equally striking academic halls of Northern Ireland (standing in for England). The musical score creatively inserts Stravinsky and Ravel in settings you may not have considered before. The film's best scenes inevitably focus on those terrifying moments when the nervous explorers' encounters with native peoples could go either way. And as for Fawcett's final trip, well, let's just say that the film invents a visual marvel that exceeds anything that really could have happened to this foolishly brave explorer.
