The Lost City of Z (2017)It was a time when wealthy British aristocrats would amuse themselves with risky expeditions to savage lands to examine the lesser beings in 'uncivilised' territories. They would study them like guinea pigs, record their habits for future references and in the process rob them blind of precious metals and of a rich civilisation. It was a time just before the onset of World War One and Major Percy Fawcett is seconded to the Royal Geographical Society to do some surveying work in the interiors of Bolivia.
Fawcett does his work and returns but not without realising that, unlike his contemporaries who think that the Amazon natives are anything but civilised, he feels the land holds the remnants of an advanced culture.
After a failed return trip to discover the lost city that he calls 'Z', his life gets embroiled in the Trench War. Injured, he is refrained from pursuing any further expeditions. The calling proved too strong. On the insistence of his eldest son, he made a final attempt to the lost city. The fate and whereabouts of both of these explorers remain a mystery till today. Multiple search parties returned empty-handed. The consensus among most lies between being killed by natives and living blissfully with the natives.
Even though the film is quite slow moving, it did manage to create the tension of the conflict of a man having to decide between leaving behind a young family and missing the crucial growing years of his children, as these expeditions take years altogether, and wanting to achieve something in his life. Should you attempt the hold more than you can grasp or be happy with the strand of straws that you have? Should we let fear of the unknown determine our future? Should we be content with our lives? Is there a limit to satiety? Is contentment the panacea for all evils in the world?
