"The Lost City Of Z" by James Gray - movie review

I watched "The Lost City Of Z"and decided to share a few lines because I think the movie deserves them. "The Lost City Of Z" is a film by director James Gray, based on the best-selling bestseller of the same story, telling the true story of colonel Percy Fowasset, a former military member of the British Army who has become a researcher looking for a lost city in the heart of Amazon. His expense has a high cost - reputation, family life with his wife (Sienna Miller) and his children. I guess most people are not familiar with the actual story I will not tell here because it will be an unforgivable spoiler but about ten years ago, David Grant, an author in New Yorker, falls into hidden diaries that lead to a mystery related to the researcher Percy Foyce. If you don't know anything about that like me, to watching the movie will be a real pleasure, filled with a lots of surprises. Those of you who are more interested in the fate of the courageous researchers of the last century would find a lot of inconsistencies, both in the book of the Grand and in the movie, so ... I will stick strictly to the film. We can not talk about a film whose action is developing on the Amazon and not being influenced by Werner Herzog. In "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", he tells of a man mad by his lust for glory, who condemns his people to doom, in the service of a personal journey to insanity. Here, Fooset is not presented this way (I will come back to it a little later), although in certain scenes the shadow of narcissism is headlong.

Another difference is the enormous amount of time that covers "The Lost City Of Z". The trips to the Amazon are three, two decades pass and one World War. This cuts the atmosphere of the jungle, which is so influential in Aguirre, because it is about a prolonged penetration into the dangerous territories. This is a typical problem for adaptations of books that cover entire epochs, but the duration of the film (141 minutes) certainly helps to smooth out some roughness. In a short episode, Fowasset and his colleague (once again great Robert Pattinson) are witnessing an opera in the jungle, which strongly resembles the absurdity of Fitzcaraldo - another cult collaboration between Herzog and Klaus Kinski. These comparisons made me think about how different a world we live in. How impossible it seems to this actor pointing a gun to the director's temple in an attempt to force him to stop production because of the difficult conditions. Then the photos continue. This sense of danger is strongly related to the films of the 70's and can not be simulated in the modern studio environment. One of the recent films, whose action was developing in nearby territories, was the wonderful "Embrace Of The Serpent ", which, like "The Lost City Of Z", showed the vanishing culture of the tribes living there and the influence of the Western man. As much as film parallels to stretch, however, it all comes down to Joseph Conrad's masterpiece "The Heart of Darkness". Entering into the darkest corners of consciousness represented by a physical journey (usually along a river) is an influential topic, most heavily depicted in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. This is, to some extent, the main problem of "The Lost City Of Z" - that it dares to accept its totally gloomy half. It does not go far enough in the study of its character, it is satisfied with sentiment where it should throw the spear right into the bleeding heart of the bare human nature. There are times when I was reminded that I do not see a standard blockbuster, and that's something I'm grateful for because the film is an absolute exception to the studio rule, but its mitigated tone is the reason why it will not be the classic which could be. Even more, "The Lost City Of Z" could be seen as a comment for the modern man. And he is somewhat, but again - not enough. Psychologist Jordan Peterson, who sharply criticizes modern postmodernist society, argues that the crisis in men, especially in middle age, stems from the loss of metaphysical basis and, above all, from the lack of adventures and dangers that so strongly impart meaning and sensation for the purpose of the ancient male heart.

Which brings me to another problem - the attempt to show the female side of history. Because while Fowasset is overwhelmed by the possible glory of his adventures, his wife grows up their three children alone at home. Scenes with her (Sienna Miller) are not convincing enough. It's the boring part of history, no matter how wrong it was. Attempts to feminist subtext do not work because they are thrown as justification. Their dramatism would have been deeper if the Foulasset tragedy was more clearly outlined. Apart from this, however, "The Lost City Of Z" is a damn beautiful film. Maybe some of the most impressive cadres I see this year. Operated is veteran Darius Konji, responsible for David Fincher's Seven, as well as dozens of other great films such as Michael Haneke's "Love", "Delicatessen", "The Beach" and "Midnight in Paris". His work here can be compared to that of Chris Menges in "The Mission" or even Emmanuel Ljubetzki in The New World and Return. Colors and lighting are truly exceptional, and in many cases (like one of the final scenes) they remind Barry Lyndon of their pedanticity to show naturally how a torch or a premier ball room would look like. Beautiful scenes on the Amazon, with no dron or helicopter frames, are all focused on people. I also liked the music of Christopher Spelman, who worked on almost all of Gray's films. Supporting but also powerful in the silent climax of the film. "The Lost City Of Z" reminded me of the wonderful "Sunset Song," which was also a beautiful but still raw movie. Both show pure sentimentality and naivety, which are confronted with a brutal and cold world. Rarely, the cinematic work has so sneakily convincing the viewer to relax and eventually the director surprises him with a scene that no one would expect to see in such a beautiful and epic film. A good and thoughtful job is done by James Gray, who, in his scale and ambition, is approaching titans like John Houston and David Lean. Few directors nowadays try to deal with similar stories in such a classic way, and this movie is a real treasure that I hope will not be hidden, like the lost city of the title.

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