Review Lost City of Z produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B - a visual delight at Berlin

A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s, The Lost City of Z has great cinematography and a wonderfully crafted script.  A classic timeless film hands down. Producers Brad Pitt production company Plan B co-founded with  Brad Grey and Jennifer Aniston in 2001 has  become influential in supporting auteur-driven works.

The Lost City of Z is a film based on a true story and is the name given by Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British surveyor, to an indigenous city that he claimed existed in the jungle of the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. Based on early histories of South America and his own explorations of the River Amazon region, Fawcett theorized that a complex civilization once existed in the Amazon region and that isolated ruins may have survived. Fawcett then found a document known as Manuscript 512, housed at the National Library of Rio de Janeiro, believed to be by Portuguese bandeirante João da Silva Guimarães (pt) who wrote that during 1753 he'd discovered the ruins of an ancient city that contained arches, a statue, and a temple with hieroglyphics. The city is described in great detail without providing a specific location. This city became a secondary destination for Fawcett after "Z". Manuscript 512 was written after explorations made in the sertão of the province of Bahia, see Fawcett's own book "Exploration Fawcett".

Fawcett was preparing to find "Z" when World War I intervened. During 1920 he attempted on his own to find the city, but withdrew after suffering from fever and shooting his pack animal. During a second 1925 expedition, Fawcett, his son Jack, and Raleigh Rimell disappeared in the Mato Grosso jungle.

David Grann's New Yorker article "The Lost City of Z" (2005) was expanded into a book The Lost City of Z (2009). At the dawn of the 20th century, British explorer Percy Fawcett journeys into the Amazon, where he discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region. Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment, which views indigenous populations as savages, the determined Fawcett, supported by his devoted wife, son, and aide-de-camp, returns to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case. on the book "The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon"

Darius Khondji cinematographer does an exquisite job of framing every shot creating each scene into a palette of vibrant colour and motion. A dynamic cast brings the story alive with exceptional direction by James Gray (Little Odessa)

 Tom Holland as Jack Fawcett and Sienna Miller as his wife Nina are paired to perfection with a chemistry which permeates the screen.  With anticipation of a spring release The Lost City of Z is sure to win a large audience and hopefully picking up a few awards along the festival circuit.

Story by Laurie Gordon

resources: IMDB Wikipedia