Technical
assessment: 4
Moral
assessment: 3
CINEMA rating:
V14
British
explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) sets out in 1906 to survey Bolivia’s dense
rainforests. With corporal Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson), he finds relics of
ancient pottery that convince him that deep within the Amazon jungle is a
civilization far more advanced than high-brow London society can acknowledge.
He calls it the Lost City of Z. Fawcett and Costin return to Bolivia a second
time to locate the city, but their mission is sabotaged by self-directed biologist
James Murray (Angus Macfadyen). On his third attempt in 1923, Fawcett is joined
by his son Jack (Tom Holland). They never return, but Nina (Sienna Miller) does
not lose hope that her husband and son are alive, even as she shows proof that
someone saw them living with the Amazon people.
Based
on David Grann’s book of the same title, The
Lost City of Z is a cinematic experience of idyllic meadows in Ireland and dramatic
indoor shots and closeups. With good lighting, the scenes become almost like impressionist
paintings. The magic is lost when the film takes the audience to the recesses
of the Amazon. The supposed emerald greens and glistening forests, even the
ancient pottery that was central to the story, failed to enthrall and convince
the audience that there might indeed be a Lost City of Z. The script
compensates, and is outstanding for unraveling the internal conflicts of the characters:
of Fawcett’s desire to restore the glory of his family’s name, his faith in the
existence of an ancient and advanced civilization frowned upon by England’s
intellectual aristocracy, of Nina’s struggles to transcend the stereotypical role
of a devoted wife and mother as she articulates her desire to be part of the
expedition herself.
Yet
even with a laudable script, or perhaps because of it, The Lost City of Z fails to stir our hearts, but as a purely
intellectual experience it challenges us to examine our own prejudices. To what
extent are we prepared to abandon our preconceived notions, much of them
subliminal, of racial supremacy? That the film is told from the point of view
of a white man and very little if at all is conveyed about or by the Amazon
tribes gives us pause. It mirrors how modern society silences the poor in the
periphery, quite opposite the preferential option for the poor that we as
Catholics should vow to pursue. We also shouldn’t miss the centrality of marriage
and family as drivers of one’s choices in life. The film illuminates this issue
so well, showing how Fawcett is at once driven by personal ambitions and lofty
ideals, and his son Jack, in rage, questions his father’s convictions. Immensely
relevant in today’s Filipino diasporas mushrooming in various parts of the
world, where people go in search of better jobs. Overseas Filipinos are our
modern day Fawcetts. The Lost City of Z
makes us think, and as a tool for introspection, it achieves its purpose.
