![]() ![]() “The Lost City of Z” was directed by James Gray, who capably transitions from smaller, more self-contained stories - “Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night” - to this sprawling saga that whisks audiences from Cork, Ireland, to the rain forest to the trenches of World War I France. But how to convince the Royal Geographical Society to send him back, when its members don’t want to acknowledge that such a civilization could predate England’s? He isn’t quite sure what this place is, but he knows he must return to investigate. (Aidan Monaghan/Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street)Īt the culmination of this trip, Fawcett stumbles upon pottery in the jungle, not to mention ancient art carved into rock. Those who survive nearly starve to death, although blood poisoning from gangrenous wounds or disease could easily kill them first. In one particularly harrowing scene, a tribe unleashes an onslaught of arrows on the travelers. ![]() Along with his aide-de-camp, Henry Costin (a wonderful Robert Pattinson, unrecognizable under a bushy beard), a native guide (Pedro Coello) and a few other helpers, Fawcett learns just how risky a river cruise down the Amazon can be. Once he realizes how dangerous the mission is, however, he begins to second-guess that choice. Often overlooked because, as one character puts it, he was “unfortunate in his choice of ancestors,” Fawcett agrees to go after he’s promised glory and advancement should he succeed. (Aidan Monaghan/Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street)įawcett’s first trip is a mission he’s loathe to accept on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society to help define the border between Brazil and Bolivia. Robert Pattinson, left, and Charlie Hunnam star in “The Lost City of Z,” the real(-ish) story of one of Britain’s greatest explorers, who trekked deep into the interior of Brazil. Instead, the mother of three ends up stuck at home while her husband gallivants on the other side of the world. The careful attention to modern-day sensibilities comes across even more conspicuously in the depiction of Percy’s wife, Nina (Sienna Miller), a self-professed “independent woman,” who makes a case for accompanying her husband on his dangerous trips. But that would have been a non-starter for a hero in 2017. The film depicts Fawcett, played by Charlie Hunnam, as a brave, brilliant and open-minded pioneer, chafing against the strictures of a British society that labels the indigenous people “savages.” In truth, Fawcett probably did the same. Viewers should know going in that the movie, based on a book by David Grann, plays fast and loose with the facts. The real-life British soldier made multiple trips to the Amazon during the early 20th century in search of an ancient civilization. “The Lost City of Z,” which dramatizes Percy Fawcett’s adventures in South America, is a thrilling reminder of the genre’s potential. We no longer see explorers on the big screen, venturing into uncharted terrain where foreign dangers lurk, even though those stories are cinematic. The old-school adventure epic is something of an endangered species.
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