The Lost City of Z

The movie opens with Major Percy Fawcett stationed in Ireland and engaging in a hunt.  He is in his late 30s and has no medals to show for his long service.  If he is to advance, he needs to see some action.  Unexpectedly, he is called to the Royal Geographic Society and dispatched to map a river in the Amazon to establish the border between Bolivia and Brazil.  Percy Fawcett made his first expedition into the Amazon in 1906.  He made his last in 1925, where he presumably died at the hands of hostile natives.  During his many expeditions in between, he heard tales of a great city from the natives and discovered pottery shards that indicated a more advanced civilization than had previously been encountered in the region.  Fawcett believed their was a great city to be discovered and called it Z.

James Gray's screenplay feels like it is addressing modern issues rather than historical ones.  At one point, his wife proposes that she should accompany him on his trip, stating that childbirth is every bit as difficult as surviving the jungle for months on end.  It felt like a feminist screed which might be fine if the setting was post 1950s but the conversation takes place in 1912.  She argued that the kids would be in school.  Really?  Is this a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week school?  The scene felt like a bra burner from 1969 had been transported to 1912 to have an argument with a male chauvinist.  Elsewhere, Fawcett argues that no one wants to believe his claims of a lost civilization in the Amazon because they are racist, thinking Indians are too stupid to have a civilization that could have pottery!  Um, Aztecs, Mayans, Incas?  Those advanced civilizations were beyond dispute when he gave his impassioned speech against racist Englishmen who apparently believed natives incapable of civilization.  This speech falls particularly flat since no great civilization was uncovered.  Yes, there was a civilization in the area but it pales in comparison to Incas.  In his final expedition, he explains that it is important that he go with a small party as the Americans are sending a huge expedition that is going to ruin the Amazon.  Yeah, can't leave out some America bashing.  Then there was the rebellious son who attacks his father for 'abandoning' his family for long periods to go on these fruitless expeditions.  Military personnel to this day have long absences from their families and we can fly around the world in a day!  A hundred years ago, absences were considerably longer.  For example, in 1907, Theodore Roosevelt dispatched the Great White Fleet to circumnavigate the globe.  It left in December 1907 and returned February 1909.  Imagine how many teenagers berated their sailor fathers for abandoning the family in the wake of this travesty.  Give me a break.

Not only does the movie give early 20th century characters the attitudes of early 21st century characters, it is boring.  Here is the tale of a man who inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to create Professor Challenger but he is mostly a tedious blowhard with delusions of El Dorado.  What the heck was with the scene of the Gypsy reading his palm in the trenches of World War I?  Why even bother including his service in World War I as it just detracted from the titular story?  Of course, the fact that it has proven to be the Lost Village of Z really detracts from the epic nature of the story.  Why the character assassination of James Murray?  His heirs should consider a libel suit against the makers of the movie.  There is very little admirable about this depiction of Fawcett.

Do not waste your time on this stinker.