Why was James Gray’s “The Lost City Of Z” missing from our definitive guide to The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2017, you ask? Because it was one of the 20 Best Films Of 2017 we’ve already seen. An epic, almost Herzogian adventure (albeit with, as our NYFF review said, “a continuation of the quieter mood” of his previous film, “The Immigrant,”) ‘Z’ puts his themes of familial tragedy front and center once again.
As you likely already know, the film stars Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, and Angus Macfadyen. Here’s the synopsis:
Based on author David Grann’s nonfiction bestseller, THE LOST CITY OF Z tells the incredible true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as “savages,” the determined Fawcett – supported by his devoted wife (Sienna Miller), son (Tom Holland) and aide-de-camp (Robert Pattinson) – returns time and again to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case, culminating in his mysterious disappearance in 1925. An epically scaled tale of courage and obsession, told in James Gray’s classic filmmaking style, THE LOST CITY OF Z is a stirring tribute to the exploratory spirit and those individuals driven to achieve greatness at any cost.
Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street will release “The Lost City Of Z” in Los Angeles and New York on April 14th and in theaters nationwide on April 21st.