The Lost City Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
A place you leave is a place that lives forever.
In Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
| Andy Garcia | Fico Fellove |
| Inés Sastre | Aurora Fellove |
| Tomas Milian | Don Federico Fellove |
| Richard Bradford | Don Donoso Fellove |
| Nestor Carbonell | Luis Fellove |
| Enrique Murciano | Ricardo Fellove |
| Dominik García-Lorido | Mercedes Fellove |
| Dustin Hoffman | Meyer Lansky |
| Bill Murray | The Writer |
| Lorena Feijóo | Leonela |
| Steven Bauer | Captain Castel |
| Juan Fernández | President Fulgencio Batista |
| Jsu Garcia | Ernesto "Che" Guevarra |
| William Marquez | Rodney |
| Julio Oscar Mechoso | Colonel Candela |
| Andy Garcia |
6.90 out of 10 (2882 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Propaganda and rubbish
posted on 26 Aug 2009Oh, these poor rich guys in Cuba. I'm SOOOO sorry for them, they were having SO MUCH fun - OK, some people were starving to death, the island was ruled by ruthless mobsters and American capitalists (don't ask me what the difference is), but what of it? - and this BAD GUY (oh yeah, the movie does its best to depict him as an elitarian d**k) Che Guevara came and spoiled all their fun! But... how can one be so insensitive as not to understand that those old-fashioned classy families were the actual grass-roots of Cuba, and that confiscating their goods to give them to the poor was a despicable act of hubris?Andy Garcia had so much better just take on roles that suit him, like the lovey-dovey compassionate husband, outside of this crock of BS of a movie.Does this comment contain spoilers? Nothing can possibly spoil this movie more than it is already by its very existence.
One of the worst films I ever saw...
posted on 27 Jul 2009One point in film I actually wished it would only be another Hollywood (anti)communist commercial - it would then at least be interesting - as a school case.Is there any worth mentioning how pathetic it looks when you see fat rich family dancing around in beautiful castles around exploited and impoverished Cuba, and then yammering how terrible and unjust the revolution and the loss of freedom is ?! After seeing this, even if I was an English princess I'd put a star on my forehead and coupe-d'et-at my deserving fat-ass parents and give it too the hard-working Nigerians ...But no, there must be hours of family and romance drama involved that is more clichéd than Mexican soap opera moments :/ Some nice girls, dancing and music are really bright points, but other is just a huge minus, so I can't give it more then 1:(
A poorly developed movie
posted on 19 Jul 2009Andy Garcia should stick to playing movies and not making them. In lost city he fails in all aspects of movie making.This could have been an interesting and entertaining film, all the more so because it could have used some history and background. It isn't a bad film, but it is all over the map and has no focus. The movie fails to build/develop the characters, and the screenplay/script is very poor. Even acting seems artificial and Andy himself is more concerned with how he looks than how he acts. I was shocked at Bill Murray's and Dustin Hoffman's appearances - they were both under utilized and completely useless. One can never tell if the movie was meant to be about a love story, or a revolution, or a family saga.Andy Garcia should have reviewed Reds by Warren Beatty before making this film. The ONLY worthy part of the film is the music and the poem at the end of the movie.
Just a story
posted on 17 Jul 2009It is a film with good photography, music and cast. Glad to see former star of Italian cinema, Tomas Milian, acting well. It was also nice to see Havana although most part of the film was made in Santo Domingo, a city with which I am also well familiar. The plot is about the behavior of Cuban rich family (not a poor one) during the Batista's bloody dictatorship, and in the new regime imposed by Fidel Castro. The process for Cuba to become communist took three years after 1st January 1959. Following the film, everything went fast after Castro came to power, i.e. nationalization or confiscation of the properties, large farm estates, etc., and I found it not very much coherent. The Russians came to Cuba by the end of 1960, and in the film it seems as if there were there from the very beginning. We may not like Ernesto Guevara's views and ideas, but he was not a man for jokes and laughs, as he is shown. Another thing was music suppression, it is true that since 1962 The Beatles, Rolling Stones and other Pop groups remained forbidden until 1967, but saxophone forbidden, never heard about. Wondering how Paquito D'Rivera could become such an outstanding master of sax when the instrument was forbidden in Cuba according to this film. In any case, let's take the film as a story trying to resemble something of Cuban history.
"Shoulda," " woulda," " coulda".....
posted on 13 Jul 2009This was a movie that very nearly pulled it off, but not quite. If Bill Murray was supposed to be Ernest Hemingway, as some suggest, he was terrible.If he was a gratuitous character, he was still terrible.Take out all the Bill Murray, edit out some of the extraneous material, tighten up the other scenes, and you have a beautiful, meaningful film.It's probably still worth seeing, if only for the beautiful cinematography. The fact that Garcia chose to give an objective, critical view of Castro's takeover of Cuba, lends credibility.The scenery, music, and beautiful photography make this worth viewing.
Heartfelt but badly flawed
posted on 29 Jun 2009One day someone is going to make a decent film about the Cuban revolution, but in the meantime we will have to put up with half-baked efforts like this and Havana.There is no doubting the earnestness of actor-director Andy Garcia's convictions but what we basically have here is an overlong and rather dull vanity project. Garcia plays Fico, an affluent nightclub owner who finds his family and life slowly disintegrating in the midst of the events leading up to - and consequences of - Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution. Long, deliberately-paced films are usually that way to establish a number of characters in depth and to lure the viewer into investing their sympathy and concern for these characters. But this film seems to take forever to tell us very little about Garcia's Fico or any other members of his family. Garcia looks perpetually miserable and seems to be trying to imitate Al Pacino in the Godfather movies, while the film itself seems to be trying to establish an epic sweep that it completely fails to achieve.The film looks and sounds terrific, but Garcia isn't a great, or even particularly accomplished director. And what exactly is the purpose of Bill Murray's character? He's supposed to be a writer with an infectious sense of humour but he rarely says anything funny despite the reactions of other characters, and his presence adds nothing to the plot. Similarly, Dustin Hoffman pops in for a couple of meaningless scenes as Meyer Lansky which wouldn't be missed if they were removed.
What a mess!!
posted on 25 Jun 2009Wel,where should I start?! Let's say I ain't even gonna get political or gonna try to contest the historical accuracy of the movie.But... at the same time from what I've learned at school(thats in Spain,so may be we're not so well informed over there)Fidel didn't start having contacts with the soviets till a bit later on,after the Americans turned their backs on him, he didn't even call himself a communist. But besides that, the film is just bloody horribly edited, a bloody mess!! The acting is in general bad.Except some characters that doe it a bit better. The ending is really unbelievable, actually quite funny, the mob gay coming around almost apologizing for something he didn't do and offering jobs.Really amazing!!!!hahahahahah!!!And even his fiancé(now doing Fidel) is popping by to for a cup of coif!! Wel I hope Andi at least next time makes a film about Cuba in the proper language:ESPAñOL Oh I almost forgot, the music is nice. Better next time poor Andi.
The Lost City
posted on 17 Jun 2009I enjoyed this film a great deal. I am a history teacher and want to learn more about the history of Cuba. I think this film brings an interesting viewpoint of an event that most Americans (myself included) don't know a great deal about. The film's makers argue that the revolution was not a peasant revolt. Instead, they argue that it was caused by the middle class. I also think that the presentation of the conflicts within Cuban families was heartbreaking. I think that the makers of the film did a great job with a small budget. I loved the costumes, sets, and music. The story behind the film is fascinating. I have always been a fan of Andy Garcia, a breathtaking man and a fine actor. This film increases my respect for his work and his manner of balancing "the Hollywood thing" and his private life. I am delighted that I stumbled upon this film and I hope that more people discover this interesting film.
Andy Garcia's Bittersweet Valentine To Cuba
posted on 09 Jun 2009THE LOST CITY (2006) *** Andy Garcia, Ines Sastre, Tomas Milian, Enrique Murciano, Bill Murray, Dustin Hoffman, Millie Perkins, Nestor Carbonell, Steven Bauer, Richard Bradford, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Julio Oscar Mechosa, Juan Fernandez, Elizabeth Pena, William Marquez, Tony Plana, (Dir: Garcia)Andy Garcia's Bittersweet Valentine To CubaAndy Garcia has always been a favorite of mine to watch on screen, with his fiery, impassionate no-holds-barred, cool-as-a-cucumber performances with both excessive and implosive turns and his passion is now on full display in his directorial debut, a valentine to his beloved homeland Cuba.Garcia stars as Fico Fellove, a nightclub owner and musician in Havana, circa 1958, on the cusp of the Cuban revolution and a drastic turn of historical events that will forever change his heart and soul.The ones that possess and fight for both of these are namely his loving family led by the patriarchal Federico (Milian), a good man of professorial status at the university and his caring wife Dona Cecilia (Perkins), who still insist their family meet for Sunday dinners promptly at six o'clock with no excuses. Those providing the turmoil are his brothers Luis and Ricardo (Carbonell and Murciano respectively) who consistently are chomping at the bit with their disputes about the impending revolution and the desire to remain a patriot despite the odds of Communism infiltrating the masses. Fico remains the peacekeeper and will not tolerate any disrespect towards his decent-hearted father but the dam will only hold for so long as the siblings go their separate ways.When Luis is killed in an attempted coup-de-tat assassination on loathed Presidente Batista (Fernandez) Fico can only see the writing on the wall when he allows his heart to open to Luis' widow, the beautiful Aurora (Sastre); the two fall in love and marry. Shortly thereafter things get worse when Ricardo has fled to the deep jungles of the covert military ops of Fidel Castro after he was arrested and beaten by the corrupt chief of police, the vile hand crop bearing Colonel Candela (Mechosa) who has slain Luis. Fico knows this but is powerless to do anything, which makes the tragedy unfolding even more devastating for him to burden himself with.Garcia does an admirable job in capturing the flavor of the late 1950s look of the imbroglio-to-be with an elegant production design created by Waldemar Kalinowski and gorgeous cinematography by Emmanuel Kadosh that does justice to his ideal yet struggling nation under fire. The surprisingly literate screenplay by G. Cabrera Infante is an informative although fictitious timeline of events potboiling but the simmering, languid pacing deserves a heavy edit with its lethargic run time of nearly two and a half hours. It is obvious Garcia is focused on how things are to be depicted and it is remarkable in this seven year labor of love finally has emerged but there is a somewhat uneven tone throughout in deciding to be a "Casablanca" tinged melodrama or a "Godfather" wannabe with its sprawling plot lines and economy with words. Although I love Bill Murray, his unnamed "Writer", is a court jester ham bone comic sidekick that is at times a tad distracting; oh who am I kidding - I loved him! His entrance alone is worth the price of admission in a seersucker suit (trousers altered to shorts for the humid climes) and a panama hat. Although the aspirations of Garcia is a mixed crazy quilt of political intonations and soul-searching empathy he should be proud of delivering something that means something if not to the audience than to himself.
Critics nuts!
posted on 20 May 2009The Lost City. Bad reviews in the press, but a very interesting and music filled rendition of why Cuba needed a Castro, how Castro failed his own revolution, why the middle class left, and lots of great music , some of it old film of actual stars of the pre-Castro Cuban music scene.I don't understand the bad reviews. Maybe the intertwined stories were too much for the reviewers to handle: Love of a Family, love of men and women, love of Cuba, Meyer Lansky as a sort of good guy, music, dancing, Batista as a strange, bad guy and Castro as a hero with feet of clay.Additional virtue: Ines Sastre, the woman who plays the wife of Andy Garcia's brother is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen on the screen.
terrible
posted on 14 May 2009Very, very long and boring. Characters are way tooo intense, spout sentences and look inspired, sometimes with involuntarily funny effects.It contains a caricature of the Castro regime, Guevara etc, and a caricature of Batista. A caricature of Cuban democratic movements, and a caricature of a love affair.The worst film I've ever seen ? no, of course.However, as compared to its ambitions, one which fails in an amazingly impressive way.Some songs are OK.
Excellent film
posted on 26 Apr 2009Before watching this film, I thought China was the only country that had a disaster like this during the cultural revolution. As a Chinese, I know exactly what happened in China. Cultural revolution is an indelible scar deep inside my heart and I'm sure most Chinese coming from that time would have the same feeling as I do. This film shows the factors that I always wanted to say but couldn't simply explain it in any language. Basically, Cuban revolution = Chinese Cultural Revolution.The story is plain and I guess it's one of the common stories during the revolution in Cuba. The film objectively shows the both positive and negative side of the world before and after revolution. It doesn't try to hide the dark side of the old days and it doesn't bury the positive impact of the new world. The way it tells the history is similar to the way The film(The Pianist) does but in a more objective manner. By tracing an artist's life to reflect the history, it precisely shows what happened in the real world.After watching this film, I couldn't stop thinking of it for a couple of day. I love this film. If you like history related films, I would strongly recommend this one.
some beautiful cinematography and some terrible writing
posted on 26 Apr 2009This movie definitely has some strong points. There is some stunning cinematography and a few amazing sequences that depict quite beautifully the trauma of the revolution on one Cuban family...But OH MY GOD, some of the writing is just awful, especially for female characters. The female characters are so two dimensional, shallow and unbelievable. I found myself rolling my eyes throughout the movie at the words uttered by and to them "You don't have to be sad, you just have to be beautiful."...or something like that. Terrible. The plot is also quite disjointed and awkward and it goes on too long. I am on the verge of saying don't bother seeing this movie, but for the few strengths mentioned earlier it is probably worth checking out.
One of the best films I have seen
posted on 20 Apr 2009This film accurately portrays what was going on in Cuba before, during, and after the Cuban revolution. It focuses on the upper middle class Fellove family and how political ideology affects and divides their family institution. This film also has an extraordinary love story with some of the most breathtaking scenes in a tropical paradise that I have seen. The outdoor scenes (taking in my native Dominican Republic) shows so much natural beauty. Ines Sastre and Andy Garcia have wonderful chemistry. This film actually had some moments that made me cry. This is basically one of the best films to see if you have some interest in Cuban/Latin American history. I recommend it to anyone.I give it a 10/10.
Misses the real story of Cuba
posted on 08 Apr 2009Watching this film, I am so reminded of Casablanca. Like Rick, Fico Fellove (Andy Garcia) is seemingly oblivious to the oppression and evil that surrounds him, only concerned with running his nightclub. Unlike Rick, Fico never changes and only connects with the enemy to save his brother or his friend.The movie is just too darn pretty. It presents a Cuba that may be familiar to the upper class and the rich American tourists, and neglects to mention the Cuba that demanded a revolution. This Cuba, one of poor, uneducated peasants that were in virtual slavery on sugar and tobacco plantations and women who sold themselves to tourists, is seen only in Mikhail Kalatozov's Soy Cuba, which will be released in a deluxe edition this month.The movie worth watching for Garcia's performance and the performances of Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray, and Elizabeth Peña, as well as some great Afro-Cuban music.It probably did great box office in Miami.
Surprisingly good
posted on 17 Mar 2009Andy Garcia hit the mark. His use of actual period footage and showing Baptista, Che and Fidel in an intimate light was brave and I daresay probably a most accurate depiction. Of course I don't personally know the principle characters - not even Lansky but (with the exception of Baptista who is portrayed as a psycho-simpleton) the powerful men are complex and complete. His choice to not add romantic fluff was appreciated as the film is highly charged with passion - not just between men and women but with love of family and true patriot love. The values that the family represent are universal as are the greed and rabid veal of those scrambling for power. Although mirroring a significant part of Animal Farm in regard to the message of power corrupting; the simple truth of the story is the same. Thanks for a great film Andy Garcia - your best work to date.
Lacks Balance
posted on 15 Mar 2009Certainly I understand the passion (and the political statement) of this movie. If you voted for McCain, thought Elian Gonzales should have stayed apart from his father, and have not been to Cuba in the last 30 years you will love the movie. If on the other hand you did not grow up in Miami, and use the internet to discover the true history you might not. If like me you take both the US (Republican) spin AND the Cuban Government spin then ignore those and look at the international perspective you discover the movie lacks balance.It is from the hard line approach of the Cuban expatriate community and no doubt they are thrilled and shed tears at its mention. But if we really look at the plausibility of the plot it borders on absurdity. Here is a very rich Cuban, from a very rich family fleeing his country penniless. Nah, the nature of Cuba in 1959 and 1960 1) provided ample opportunity to see the writing on the wall 2) Every rich Cuban I know had big money in the US. They did not arrive and work washing dishes. Furthermore, Cubans (unlike my forefathers) were given loans for housing, loans for education, and loans for businesses. A well connected Club owner with a tobacco background would certainly be well connected. Thus we see the political statement.I do like Mr. Garcia (how can you not?) I do understand how he feels and why this film was so important to him. I think some of the readers will understand the lack of balance if they either look at the spin less international mainstream view or visit Cuba when Obama lifts the travel ban. We are the only country in the world that views Cuba as part of the axis of evil (a terrorist sponsor)....Why is that?
A balanced review of the Cuban Revolution
posted on 07 Feb 2009We spent two weeks in Cuba in November 2003, and found almost all of the citizens we talked with very curious about the USA and wondered why our government was making it so difficult for the Cuban people. It is not difficult for tourists, who could only use the US dollar for currency (Bush has recently tightened tourism to Cuba so now tourists to Cuba can only use Euros). I'm glad Batista was depicted exactly as he was -- a tool of the US Mafia and a fascist dictator. The movie showed how Castro came under the influence of the Argentine physician, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who led Castro to Marxism. It is too bad that US administrations, from Kennedy to G.W. Bush, have not pursued a more open door policy toward Cuba. This movie should help dispel the notion held among many older Cubans living in Miami that Castro is all bad and Batista was all good. Had our policy been more open, Cuba would today perhaps be a "Communistic Capitalistic" country like China.
Andy Garcia obtains one of his goals. He shows why he loves Cuba
posted on 07 Feb 2009This movie I found moving, because it depicts what a person feels when he is forced by circumstances of politics to abandon his homeland. When your family instills in you a pride in your country, a sense of worth based on where you came from and they show you that even a small island can be a wonderful place. Pride, joy, heritage, music, beauty in nature all are things that are close to Andy Garcia's heart concerning Cuba and he uses "The Lost City" as his vehicle to express how he feels. His characters in the movie project this quite well. A historical presentation depicted with a great deal of sentiment & feeling. I live in San Antonio, TX but I was fortunate to be visiting Miami on business so I got to see and enjoy this movie immensely.
Perfection
posted on 28 Aug 2009That is the one word that can describe this movie. This film truly gives a remarkable portrayal of the events leading up and after to the Castro Revolultion. This is a labor of love for a Cuban-American actor, writer, and director for all his people and should be appreciated by the masses. While it discusses a political rhetoric, it is complemented by a painful love story between a man, his brothers, his parents, and the woman of his life. Even for people who know extensively of the history of Cuba, this is definitely something worth seeing for aesthetic reasons as well. Andy Garcia has done a remarkable piece of work and a great homage to the Cuban people. As a Cuban-Colombian-American living in Miami, this film means a lot to me and to many others. !Viva una Cuba libre!