Review of The Lost City of Z (2017) by Wayne K — 24 Nov 2017

Boasting stunning cinematography, a talented cast and a compelling lead performance from Charlie Hunnam, The Lost City Of Z is undoubtedly too long at 2 hours and 20 minutes, especially when the 2nd and 3rd acts being to increasingly digress from the central storyline.

But the story of one of histories most controversial explorers is brought to life in the perilous jungles of South America. Set in the early 20th century, when all men were seemingly obligated to have some form of facial hair, preferably a moustache, the knowledge-craving ethos of the time leads our hero into the Amazon, where he becomes convinced that a lost city is tucked away from the civilised world.

The film makes some great symbolic gestures regarding the difference between what is savage and what is not, much like exploitation flick Cannibal Holocaust did. The eponymous city is presented as an unreachable, possibly non-existent entity, especially in a world experiencing such rapid development, and Fawcett's determination to find it clashes perfectly with the doubting and scornful words of the naysayers.

Hunnam shows us what drives Fawcett, what motivates him, and how much he must sacrifice to achieve his personal goals. He's backed up by a fantastic Sienna Miller, bizarrely giving a parallel performance to her role in American Sniper, as the wife of a military man, raising his children while he risks his life on foreign soil.

Its problems lie in an extended runtime and wobbly narrative, but its strengths trounce its weaknesses, and anyone interested in historically significant discoveries and/or in Percy Fawcett himself, I'd say this is a must-see.