The Lost City of Z

A journey that does not lead along any seemingly clear paths. It is not a tale of adventure, but neither is it a detailed study of jungle turmoil, fortunately. Fawcett and Costin may have attempted both directions, and yet they are described in a completely different spirit. One where the main focus is on their own determination, the search for a life goal, and not losing sight of that goal no matter the sacrifices. The result is that increasingly rare phenomenon of an honest epic film, which takes as much time as it needs to reach its point. Its only (but easily visible) mistake is that it takes at least half an hour more than necessary to fit everything precisely. (10/04/2020)

An adventure in the most crystalloid form. Mapping areas that civilization has not reached and looking for the legendary city of gold. The effort to adhere to reality at all costs here is amazing. Piranhas, cannibals, remnants of ancient civilizations and the jungle as the enemy and great loves too. The acting can’t be faulted. Hunnam is excellent, clever, and preoccupied leader type, Pattinson in a perfect role of an unshaved orator. The type of movie that resounds inside you and triggers your desire for discovery. (05/02/2018)

An old-school tale that often hints at Spielberg's most ambitious works. Slow, consistent, directorially pedantic, with an emphasis on the exceptional atmosphere of the early 20th century and an extremely charismatic protagonist. A message of discovery greater than that of Medicine Man, and visually as brilliant as The New World – which it most resembles. In content, however, those films are incomparable, because Gray sticks to facts and tangibles and Malick plays on feelings, philosophising through the game of image and sound. The Lost City of Z is a slightly more conventional, middle-of-the-road film for people who don't mind lack of action in favour of a dense story, although the pace and rhythm are occasionally problematic. 2 hours 20 minutes is too long for the material and the chosen concept, and in the second half, after all the cards have been revealed, it feels rather monotonous. (14/11/2017)

Just don’t expect another Indiana Jones. The Lost City of Z is not big-screen adventure fun (like the recent unremarkable Kong), but an almost intimate drama about a dreamer who would like to be a good husband and father, but he is driven onward by his endless determination to discover hidden worlds. The movie’s characters and atmosphere are nice, as is spirit of the story. There’s no annoying digital crap, but no really exciting scenes either. Charlie Hunnam is good; as the producer, Brad Pitt is turning him into his younger successor. Incidentally, what is it with Brad Pitt and the letter Z? (20/04/2017)

Worse version of The Mountains of the Moon meets a worse version of There Will Be Blood. Which does not mean, however, that in any respect it was a boring or perhaps even a bad movie. On the contrary, this is not so adventurous movie about Conrad's destructive obsession with finding a chimera, and exactly the kind of old-school movie that would fit in a movie theater with the clatter of a classic "obsolete" film tape rather than the air-conditioned silence disturbed by popcorn crunch. The only mistake is that, unlike the best movies in this department, this works a little worse if you already know Fawcett's adventures. (24/04/2017)