The Lost City (2005)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The Lost City looked like it would be a decent movie however I found to be overlong, boring, and worthy of putting you to sleep.Andy Garcia is a likable actor, however he alone can not even redeem this movie. Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray and Steven Bauer are not much help either.I can't even describe the story either, I just found myself at a loss for words at what the movie is about. Upon reading the synopsis I found myself saying, "Oh, so that's what it's all about".Sorry, but I just could not find this movie to be engaging at all. I found myself lost in this boring drama.A total waste of time and effort.1/10.

After finished watching The Lost City DVD last week for the first time, I just checked how many Oscars this movie must have won. But sadly there was none. I am still trying to come to terms why in 2005 they won some as well as were there so many nominations for a pretty boring movie like 'Good night and good luck' while a brilliant piece of work like The Lost City did not even get a single nomination! Academy is so ridiculous!! Lost City is truly a Latino romantic drama with the right balance of love, joy, anguish despair and melancholy. It is of a sombre theme, but enriched with courage and hope and freedom for Fico in the end. I actually think Andy Garcia is the hero in this whole episode. His acting, music and directing stand tall out of many great things this movie renders. I knew he was an excellent actor alright but never thought he could be a maestro in combining music and movie direction in to such great levels! The story moves smoothly connecting each phase with the next one flawlessly. There are no serious flaws in the movie except for Aurora's occasionally conflicting character. It's sometimes hard to fathom whether she really wants Fico or she had an affair with Ernesto (Che)? Or her love is only for the revolution Fidel and Ernesto brought in? She is an enigma alright but acting goes well at par with the romantic and melancholic nature of the movie's main theme.All other actors have done real justice to their roles. Tomas Milian as the father does an exceptionally great job. He unrolls the love, tenderness, pain and the agony that belongs to a father figure of his calibre at that time, with very natural expressions. The writer (Bill Murray) adds lots of color to the movie with his philosophical, staid but witty dialogs and of course his profound acting. In fact he is the catalyst for Fico's growing frustration of the Cuban socio-political change that was radically initiated by Castro and Ernesto. In the end Fico and his family face the gruesome reality of the Cuban revolution when Ricardo; his own brother's behaviour see the demise of their uncle, devastating their age old family traditions and cohesion. It would be really interesting to watch this movie in the backdrop of 'Motorcycle Diaries' and compare the two polarized characters of the same Ernesto, depicted by two different directors. Poles apart!You may need some patience in the first 10 or 15 minutes to sit and try to gather pieces here and there but then only you will get in to a smoother, effortless flow of great movie making. You will not be disappointed - It certainly is a great movie!

When you ask yourself while watching a movie "OH GOD.. When will it end ?" To discover later that you were right in the middle of it, then.. This is heavy.The story is good, with touching characters. It has the criticisms against the Cuban revelation's start, told from the rich people's point of view; hence caustic and bitter as far as it can be. Being long was caused mainly by the thickness of the story and the years it covers. So what's really heavy about it ? I think some moments could have been cut. I suppose the endless shots for Garcia playing the piano whenever he's sad, the brother's regret over his dead uncle in the church along with the scene of judging him (shooting himself later is enough dramatically and artistically), like half of the photomontage in which the lead was enjoying his love with every beautiful place in Cuba, or some of the last song. Anyhow, more work had to be done in the editing room.Some matters were vague; the way the main character's love lives with the leaders of the revolution (so, was she a whore ?!), who bombed the casino if the mob didn't ?! And I didn't quite get the matter of the handkerchief on the shoulder ? Was that a gesture to imply how embarrassed the lead was, at first, of loving his late brother's girl ? And if it was, then were all of the dancing girls inappropriate lovers for the men they were dancing with ?! Sometimes the piano music got on my nerves, like uncreative improvisations were being loose non-stop annoyingly. The soundtrack is heaped up with old Cubin tracks. They are all sweet no doubt, nevertheless still heaped up soundtrack. And by the way I hated putting dancing music to the scene of butchering the lead's brother. I didn't get the reason of such an artistic touch, unless it was done for pure sadistic purpose.And then, the matter of casting newcomers. Sure they did it good, but being not that charismatic led to a fact where Garcia was the only one to be watched for the whole time. Another factor of bore. The notion of making such a movie pushes you to respect its star / director Andy Garcia for. Since he didn't go to make an assured comedy or action in Hollywood. The man got another agenda. However as a director he didn't impress me. On one side he overdid using the close and medium shots, so it felt too TV-ish. And on the other, his cadre was nice but with not much action in it. Look at the scene of murdering the uncle, by confiscating his farm. It was inactive, rather coldly usual. I felt that there was more care of "lovely" and "colorful" but not the same with "intense" and "active".Though, as an actor he's fine. He reminds me more of the Eastern actors, whereas he's passionate, with everything inside of him must be shown in a way or another. Yet, he still Western as well, with the method of using a sigh, side-glance, or a moment of blazing silence. I know that a lot of Americans may not appreciate him for that Eastern part. While the same thing could be considered awfully romantic for others. Many lines from the dialog got me. The movie is a bit poetic when it comes to express; namely short and into the point softly. However, still Murray, as the nameless careless buddy, is the best element this movie has. His cynical persona worked finely like happy face for the lead's alienation, alienation based on the desire to live free in newly-restricted world, being lost with his freedom or due to it. Murray's serene acting sounded like no acting, as something truer; which is a top any actor must dream of.For most of the time this movie slumps. It has unmistakable sense of heaviness. (The Lost City) could have been made as TV-mini series, or more catchy movie. But not like this, dear Andy. P.S : Putting the real stock shots of executing the revolution's protesters was gruesomely shocking. It scars the innocent viewers who, in their wildest Tarantino nightmares, didn't expect seeing actual killing like this. Makes you think, so furiously, while this is rated R, there must be a higher rating for images like that. Because truly, what could be more inhuman ?!

The long pauses that professional reviewers remarked on negatively are major clues to the self indulgence of the author and of Andy Garcia. Gone with the Wind got away with something along these lines, but The Lost City doesn't. Scarlett O'Hara was treated with balance enough to keep her movie afloat. Garcia drowns his movie in bathos by being too uncritically admiring of Fico--whose only commitment seems to be to the privileged lifestyle he enjoyed in the early parts of the film. Some effort at making Fico an echo of Rick in Casablanca is attempted, but the film has none of the tautness of Casablanca. More important, where Rick was able to let go of Paris for the sake of some more generous commitment to the human future, Fico and Garcia seem unable to let go of anything. At the end Fico is babbling what sounds like a very poor parody of Kahlil Gibran at his most pretentious. By then, perhaps, he has been infected by the babbling of the no-name Bill Murray character who has been inscrutably and mysteriously babbling throughout most of the film.