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ryanmeft · 8 years ago

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The Lost City of Z Movie Review

The decades around the turn of the 20th century were a time when the sort of stories seen in King Kong or Indiana Jones played out constantly, (usually) minus the magic artifacts and giant monkeys. In The Lost City of Z, English explorer Percy Fawcett sets out to find an ancient city in the Amazon rain forest, one that will prove a notion his colleagues at the Royal Geographical Society laugh at: that South American "savages" had a thriving civilization at a time when the west was still mired in the Dark Ages. James Gray directs a lightly fictionalized version of this story that gets all its impact from real danger, since magic and monsters are off the table.

Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam, of Sons of Anarchy fame) was a man of mythic status and incredible achievements. A veteran of numerous military campaigns and World War I, he was also a maker of maps, the profession that spurred epic adventures for Westerners and often, epic pain for non-Westerners. Sent to the border of Bolivia and Brazil to settle a dispute over who owns what, he and world-weary Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) and Arthur Manley (Edward Ashley) instead come upon broken pottery and carvings in stone, so deep in the jungle no one is thought to have been able to thrive there. Back home, he adamantly declares this proof that a lost city, which he names Z, is out there somewhere.

There was no surer way to make stodgy old white men mad in the 19th century than to suggest "heathens" and "savages", code for anyone who wasn't white, could have outdone them, ever. Fawcett, backed up by his fiery wife Nina (Sienna Miller), gives a somewhat fictionalized speech to the Royal Geographical Society, in which he declares that South American natives must have been more advanced than the English. Horrors! The crowd are still, however, explorers at heart: they boo the idea that mere jungle dwellers could have been their equal, then turn around and applaud raucously at Fawcett's determination to go back and prove it.

This is naturally thrilling stuff. A hint, a spark, a tiny suggestion that something exists that shouldn't exist. The Amazon is so dense, even today with so many determined to turn it into a line on a ledger, that when I went there with friends it had an honest power even over my "evolved" 21st century mind. In an age before highways and televisions it must have seemed so much more mysterious. Fawcett and company lose men to the river, to the jungle, and over the course of three expeditions (eight in reality) face every danger the jungles offer, from floods to hostile natives to the worst of all, mosquitoes and the blood-vomit-inducing diseases they carry. Last year's Embrace of the Serpent showed the intoxicating power the jungle has on outsiders, a feeling replicated here. Hunnam, with his rough features and stocky muscles, doesn't much look like the tall, thin Fawcett, but he embodies the obsessive dedication required to draw a man back to such a deadly place again and again.

There is a brief scene in which Fawcett, having finally found more evidence of his lost city, is suddenly set upon by water rushing through the rocks he stands between; the jungle can turn on him in an instant. To survive he must make peace with cannibals, be comfortable with snakes around his booted heels, and sail on waters that are literally waiting to devour him. The jungle may or may not kill him, but it will certainly make short work of any illusions he has of being a civilized Englishman. The film doesn't add unnecessary action drama, deriving a great deal of power from the simple(?) act of surviving ordinary days in the depths of the Amazon; no rolling boulders or dart traps needed here. Others are sucked in, as well, with varying results. Nina declares at one point she will go on the next expedition, and their son Jack (Tom Holland, of upcoming Spider-Man fame) eventually becomes old enough to accompany Percy on an expedition (sadly, the film leaves out that he intended to come back and work in Hollywood). Less useful by far is a corpulent braggart named James Murray (Angus Macfadyen), who fancies himself a heroic adventurer but treats the Amazon like it is a day stroll that must accommodate him. He's useful as a comparison to Hunnam's Fawcett, who is goes to this green "hell" specifically to shed his civilized skin.

What a canvas Darius Khondji has been given to work with. From the docks in Manaus, the Amazon looks like an ocean more than a river, but you don't get very far before the shores start to close in. Today, with all our technology, it is still a place that invites but does not welcome humans, and remains largely unmapped. Imagine how mysterious it must have been in 1905, or even 1925, which is where Fawcett's story ends up. Khondji, who recreated the New York of the early Ellis Islanders in Gray's The Immigrant, here shoots the jungle close, confined, and claustrophobic, with only a single snatch of the kind of sweeping vista we like photos of (a triple waterfall, something to behold). Of course, the crew never got dangerously far into the jungle from their shooting location at Santa Marta in Colombia, but you wouldn't have to to be in some danger. Even in Rio, the foliage constantly reminds you that if everyone left it would have the city back faster than you can imagine. The score by Gray's regular collaborator Christopher Spelman mostly backs off and rarely punches a dramatic moment, instead evoking the haunting feeling of being in an unfamiliar place and hearing a far-off tune you can't make out. Both these elements are essential to the film, particularly in the haunting, speculative closing scenes, where Fawcett's fate is left ambiguous as he is essentially claimed by the jungle to which he has really belonged for so many years.

I didn't read the book by David Grann, who personally filled in some of the blanks of Fawcett's life, but I did read Candace Millard's The River of Doubt, years ago, which gave the river and jungle a powerful hold on my mind long before I ever thought I'd see any of it. That story focused on a man who led an expedition to chart an uncharted tributary of the Amazon, and was temporarily driven insane by it. He was trying to forget his disappointment at losing the 1916 Presidential election. The Amazon in Gray's film seems to be making an important demand to live with it and accept it for what it is. After all, if the likes of Fawcett and Theodore Roosevelt couldn't tame it, what hope would ordinary mortals ever have?

The actual Fawcett, mapping the Brazilian-Bolivian border in 1908

Verdict: Must-See

Note: I don’t use stars but here are my possible verdicts. I suppose you could consider each one as adding a star.

Must-See Highly Recommended Recommended Average Not Recommended Avoid like the Plague

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All images are property of the people what own the movie.

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nofatclips · 7 years ago

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Happy by Mitski from the album Puberty 2 - Director: Maegan Houang

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indieethos · 8 years ago

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The Lost City of Z presents duality of dreams via perilous adventure -- a film review

The Lost City of Z presents duality of dreams via perilous adventure — a film review

Courtesy of Bleeker Street The Lost City of Z has a divinely ominous quality. A roving camera fitted with wide lenses mightily seizes upon expanses and man’s place in the land. A film about men swallowed up by the scenery, be it through the violence of a piranha attack or via more metaphysical soul-shattering mania, which varies from simple constitutional breakdown to private obsession, this film…

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#Amazon #Charlie Hunnam #Christopher Spelman #Darius Khondji #David Grann #Edward Ashley #James Gray #Kristen Stewart #Little Odessa #Robert Pattinson #Sienna Miller #The Lost City of Z #Twilight movie #Two Lovers #World War I

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byneddiedingo · 2 years ago

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The Lost City of Z (James Gray, 2016) Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Edward Ashley, Angus Macfadyen, Ian McDiarmid, Clive Francis, Pedro Coello, Franco Nero. Screenplay: James Gray, based on a book by David Grann. Cinematography: Darius Khondji. Production design: Jean-Vincent Puzos. Film editing: John Axelrad, Lee Haugen. Music: Christopher Spelman. The Lost City of Z sounds like one of those campy adventure movies spoofing the genre epitomized by King Solomon's Mines and pretty much done to death by the Indiana Jones series. (I also admit that the Z in the title also made me think it had something to do with zombies.) Anyway, how can we take movies about explorations in the Amazon seriously after Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo (1982)? But The Lost City of Z turned out to be a pleasant surprise: an old-fashioned adventure story played straight and done well. Charlie Hunnam doesn't have enough heft and charisma in the lead -- it was originally planned for Brad Pitt (who stayed on as producer after a schedule conflict) and then for Benedict Cumberbatch, either of whom might have filled the part of the obsessive explorer Percy Fawcett better. But writer-director James Gray handles a sprawling story -- we get not only scenes of Amazonian hardship but also of the Battle of the Somme in World War I -- with finesse.

#The Lost City of Z #James Gray #Charlie Hunnam #Robert Pattinson #Tom Holland

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somebaconlover · 2 years ago

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The Lost City Of Z (2016)

Directed by James Gray

Cinematography by Darius Khondji

Starring Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland and Franco Nero

"Nothing will happen to us that is not our destiny."

#Spotify

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gowithgabby · 3 years ago

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Remember the Daze.

Character BIO(s):

Kylie Julien McCarthy

17 years old

Born on September 2nd

Nickname: Ky pronounced like “Kai” (by everyone) Kay-Jay (only by Sav and Jessa), Jewels (by Noah)

Goals: Yale, aspiring to be a Doctor

Interests: Reading, Baking, Beach Days, Mathematics, Literature, Pizza

Crushing on Noah Collins, her best friend since Kindergarten

Summary: One of the best students at Laguna Beach High School, Kylie is articulate, well spoken, mannered, good at multitasking, fairly great at planning, and organized. The kid has a good heart and a good head on her shoulders. A straight A student, member of the school decathlon team, the senior class VP. Kylie is very sweet, honorable, and level headed often acting as the voice of reason in the female portion of her friends. Kylie was born to a successful lawyer, George McCarthy and his partner, Christopher Julien, a ambitious magazine editor. They used a surrogate to have their children, Kylie does know of her birth mother and maintains a relationship with her but she loves her fathers very much. She has a little sister named Violet, who is starting her freshman year at Laguna Beach HS. In all of her 17 years, Kylie has been very complacent in her actions. This year, she is hoping to take the big step in really getting what she wants. She just hopes that it doesn’t blow up in her face.

Noah Joseph Collins

18 years old

Born on June 27th

Nickname: Joey, Jojo (Only by Kylie and his mom)

Goals: Yale, aspiring to be a Lawyer

Interests: Listening to music before his time, Pizza, Video Games, Reading, Writing, Debating, and Traveling.

Crushing on Kylie McCarthy, his best friend since Kindergarten

Summary: You might think Kylie is the best student at Laguna, but Noah is her academic rival. While he is on the basketball team, he doesn’t care much for the glory that sports brings, not neglecting his athletic skills. He prefers to bury himself with books, educating himself and enriching his mind. You would think him and Kylie would be trying to tear each other down to be the best but it’s actually the exact opposite, they work off each other and build together. This is mainly due to being each other’s best friends since kindergarten, having fond memories of each other. Noah split his lunch with Kylie when she forgot hers on their first day and they’ve been tight ever since. He has dreams of Yale, his father’s alma mater. He is gifted, the editor of the school’s newspaper and he is the senior class President. He is the son of New York Times best selling author, Layla Shaw-Collins and her equally successful husband, Duane Collins, who made his wealth being the most sought out talent agent in LA. He has an older brother named Aaron whom is starting his junior year at Cornell and an older sister named Luna who is a sophomore at Spelman college, a historic black college.

Savanna Wyatt Birkhart

17 years old

Born on October 31st

Nickname: Sav, Savvy, Wyatt (by Ethan)

Goal: UCLA, aspiring to be a Model

Interests: Modeling, Singing, Cheerleading, Bonfires, Volunteering, Traveling, Shopping, Horror Movies, Yoga, Romance Movies, Makeup, Sage, Hot Wings, Indian Food.

Dating Levi James, boyfriend of 4 years. Crushing on her best friend, Ethan Mahoney (possibly)

Summary: What’s to say about Savanna Birkhart that hasn’t been said already?, dubbed the golden girl of her senior class due to her being head cheerleader and girlfriend of arrogant, Levi, the football star. She makes good grades to keep her GPA somewhat untouchable, she dreams of UCLA. Daughter of Carter Birkhart, a successful property realtor and his award winning actress wife, Farrah Sayers-Birkhart. From the time that the biracial girl was placed in her mother’s arms as a baby, she was genetically “blessed”, taking the best of both parents. Doomed to be popular of her face and wealth, don’t think she feeds into the stereotype of high school. Far from entitled and spoiled, she’s openly friendly, down to earth, charitable, honest, warm, caring, and very naive…especially when it comes to her boyfriend, Levi. Everyone is friends with Sav, she’s a good person to be around. She has an older brother named Silas, who is climbing the ladder to be a PR agent in LA, alma mater of USC and she has a 10 year old younger brother named Six, who was born on Christmas Day. Lately, she’s been finding herself in a somewhat love triangle, between her boyfriend whom she loves and her best friend, Ethan, who she also loves but she’s not sure if it’s friendly love or something more. She’s best friends with Ethan, Cali, Kylie, Noah, and Jessa but gets along with everyone fairly well.

Levi Nathaniel James

18 years old

Born on May 15th

Nickname: LJ

Goal(s): winning the state championship, Stanford, aspires to be CEO of his father’s company

Interests: Partying, Drinking, Working out, Having Sex, Traveling, Sushi, Indian Food, Sports

Dating Savanna Birkhart, girlfriend of 4 years. Unbeknownst to his naive girlfriend, he tends to cheat on her when he goes on family trips or with his dad out of town. He does love her but sometimes he cheats.

Summary: Born to a pair of sun-kissed blonde power couple, Levi is the son of Fortune 500 - Forbes listed CEO of JamesCo, William James and his former model turned socialite wife, Uma Peterson-James. From the day that he was born, Levi has been told that he is powerful, he has money and a lot of it. There hasn’t been anything he wasn’t given, awarded, provided. Textbook jock, Levi excelled in football (mainly), basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and surfs in his free time. He’s QB of the football team and he relishes in the fact that he has Sav on his arm, he’s perfect and he only wants the best for his ego. He mainly focuses on his girlfriend, sex, parties (lots of them), drinking, and sports. He is not the best friend you would want however, very few outside of their friend group knows how he got Sav, by betraying his former best friend from childhood, Ethan, who still harbors a love for Savanna. Recently, he’s been noticing Ethan’s less than quiet advances on Sav. He doesn’t like it, but he has also been holding in secrets from his girlfriend, his cheating and a deeper one that might not only fuck up his relationship with Savanna but destroy the bonds that are deep rooted with their friend group. Levi does have a softer side that only his parents, Savanna, and his sister get to see. He has a little sister named Chelsie, who is a gymnastics prodigy in the making at only 12 years old. He’s best friends with Talan, he’s friends with everyone but he doesn’t care too much for Ethan still being accepted in their group of friends.

Maia Genevieve Langley

18 years old

Born on July 5th

Nickname: Mai, Langley

Goal: Juilliard, aspiring to be an Actress

Interests: Flowers, Hot Girls, Cute Boys, Designing, Makeup, Sneakers, Cupcakes, Acting, Slumber Parties, and experimenting with different hair colors

Crushing on Bodhi Desai and her female classmate, Hanna Richardson

Summary: Everything about Maia screams sensitive, mainly Kylie’s best friends but she does hold close friendships with everyone in the group, Maia is overly sensitive, fiercely loyal, a ride or die friend, and occasionally shy. A little bit on the hyperactive side, openly bisexual and her parents are okay with it, modern day hippies…what can you say?! She had her first same sex experience with a girl at summer camp when she was in the 7th grade. Her friends do tend to walk on eggshells with her due to her over-sensitivity to avoid triggering her. A flair for the dramatics, Maia knows her name will be in lights one day. She wanted to just move to LA and not go to college but her parents are still a little old-fashioned and want her to be educated and perfect her craft before she attempts the struggling actress thing. She was born to a Japanese-American Self help guru named Mina Sato-Langley and a English father named Jeremiah Langley, he was a footballer in England before transitioning to the states and settling into ESPN anchor fame. Maia is the eldest of four children, having two younger identical twin brothers named Hunter and Finn Langley, who are freshmen at Laguna Beach high school. She has a younger sister named Bay Langley who is 6 years old, Maia was 12 years old when her sister was born, she was a what you call a “surprise” baby. Maia has spent the last four years in awe of Bodhi but he doesn’t pick up on her flirtatious banter or he ignores it to avoid hurting her feelings.

Bodhi Abraham Desai

18 years old

Born on March 19th

Nickname: Bo

Goal: Cornell, this school is said to have the best culinary arts program; aspiring to be a Chef with his own restaurant

Interests: Mixology, Baking, Cooking, Soul Music, R&B, Comic Books, Alternative music, Old movies, joking

Crushing on Cali Hernandez

Summary: Known as the Lovable Goofball, Bodhi is down to earth, laidback, friendly, and most of all, silly. He is the son of British Indian award winning Bollywood turned Hollywood actor named Deepak Desai and his acclaimed Screenwriter wife, welsh-Irish wife, Alys Davies-Desai. He has a younger sister named Billie, named after his parents love for Billie Holiday, who is 11 years old. Bodhi dreams of being a chef one day with a restaurant similar to Wolfgang or Gordon, his culinary idols. He would love to take his culinary skills abroad and studying in France, India, Italy, and many other countries. He is quite skilled in mixology, teaching himself the art of mixing drinks from YouTube and picking up tricks from hired bartenders at his parents parties and events. He makes decent grades enough to make his parents proud, he excels in chemistry having a love for science since he was in elementary school. He surfs in his alone time and is a beast on the beach when it comes to frisbee and volleyball. He’s best friends with Noah and Ethan. Close friend with everyone else in the group.

Calista Pilar Hernandez

17 years old

Born on December 31st, a New Year’s Eve baby

Nickname: Cali

Goal: UCLA or USC, aspiring to be a Decorator

Interests: Shopping, Makeup, Vlogging, Chinese Food, Boba Tea, Cheerleading, Beach Nights, Partying.

Dating Talan Everett, boyfriend of 4 years. Crushing on someone in the group but refusing to say it

Summary: Calista is the hot-headed BFF to Savanna Birkhart, while they’re both cheerleaders and share some interests, but ultimately are opposite, where Savanna is down to earth and warm, Cali tends to come off as spoiled and cold. Outspoken, brash, a slick mouth and sarcasm stewed to perfection. Do not call her a spicy Latina, she hates the way Hollywood has stereotyped women with attitude. She’s fiery and will let you know about your wrongs, proud of her heritage. She’s of Mexican-Cuban descent and Swedish through her mother. Cali has a younger brother named Javi, who is a sophomore at Laguna Beach High. Raised by her single father, Javier Hernandez Sr, a famous architect that made his wealth building homes and iconic businesses for the elite. Her mother, Enya Nilsson was a influential fashion designer with several collections, one even named after her daughter, Calista. She lost her mom at 8 years old, making her father a widow. He buried himself into his work and left his cards accessibly to his kids, Cali stepped up and helped her various nannies with her younger brother who was only 6 when their mom died. Like her best friend, she’s sexually active with her boyfriend, Talan. She and Savanna were already going to be best friends, due to their mothers. Enya and Farrah being friends. Farrah even walked on the runway for her designer friend a few times, somehow falling pregnant with their daughters weirdly around the same time. She’s been having issues with her boyfriend, Talan lately.

Talan Gray Everett

18 years old

Born on April 10th

Nickname: Tal

Goal: Wharton Business School, aspires to be Advertising Executive

Interests: Drawing, Gardening, Growing his own Weed strains, Smoking pot, Surfing, Painting, Working out

Dating Cali Hernandez, girlfriend of 4 years. Crushing on Jessa Filipov, his best friend of 6 years.

Summary: Talan is by far the most reliable guy next to Noah in his group of his friends. Son of A-List Party Planner, Britney Westin-Everett and successful Nightclub-Exotic Strip owning Mogul, Alan Everett. Talan has a younger sister named, Serena who is 15 years old and a sophomore at Laguna Beach HS and a older half brother on his father’s side, Gilliam, nicknamed Gill, who’s a senior at NYU. Talan spends his days smoking weed, drawing, surfing, skate-boarding, playing volleyball, and mainly keeping his GF, Cali and his best friend, Jessa from ripping each other’s hair out. While he knows Cali is not always a BITCH on wheels and Jessa is not only known for her body count, he doesn’t understand why the young women don’t care to much for him having the other in his life. He often wonders had his life would have been different if he chose Jessa over Cali back in the summer of 9th grade. Would Cali even still be his friend?. He knows they’re both different outside of school and when they’re alone with him. Don’t let his pot smoking ways fool you, Talan is very articulate, calculated, wise…even honorable. He has a green-thumb and he frequently grows his own cannabis in grow houses on the shores of Laguna. He does plan on going to study business. He’s a skilled artist and creative with everything. He’s sexually active and you would think with how close he is with Jessa, he cheated on Cali. But he has not, he’s been extremely faithful to his girlfriend, he does love her. Even though lately they have been on murky waters.

Jessa Beatrix Filipov

17 years old

Born on September 23rd

Nickname: J, JJ, Jess, Bea

Goal: NYU or FIT, aspires to be a Stylist

Interests: Dancing, Twerking, Parties, Salads, Gyros, Burgers, Cheerleading, Beach Days, Themed parties, Hip Hop, Pop music

Crushing on Talan Everett, her best friend of 6 years. Despite him having a GF, Cali

Summary: Jessa was not born in Laguna Beach, Cali will let you and everyone know this information. But she was born in the Nation’s capital to a pair of Bulgarian-American parents, her mother was a high society debutante, Petia Alferov-Filipov and her father, Darian Filipov, was the son of a Oil tycoon who was working his way to senator in his state of DC. However her high society days were cut short when her parents were killed in a car crash when she was 12 years old. Not having any family that was willingly to take her in on the east coast, Jessa was placed in care with her paternal aunt, Yoana Filipov, who was 23 years old at the time. Her aunt is old enough to be her older sister and is not much of a guardian. Her aunt is an heiress who doesn’t need to work, naturally she let her niece do whatever she wants. Only showing up to parent-guardian type things if it’s really needed, signing permission slips and sending her niece money. Jessa quickly made friends in the first few weeks of moving to LB, quickly making her debut as the 10th friend in their group of 9. Jessa “grew up and out” developing physically before the other girls in the group, making her unwisely the first one to adhere to her sexual exploration and interests. She briefly dated Noah, even took his virginity in 9th grade before letting him go as he continued to love Kylie from afar. She does not believe in labels or dating unless she’s really in love and she’s only been in love with one person, Talan for as long as she can remember. A cheerleader, a party girl, and sexually liberated (her words), Jessa is not everyone’s cup of tea…mainly Cali’s. She and Cali actually share a lot in common, both being confident in their looks on the outside but insecure on the inside, sexually active, slick mouthed and sharp tongued, you would think they’d be the best of friends…but they aren’t and Talan is the reason. Plus she also never really like Cali due to her attitude and spoiled demeanor and ability to keep secrets and lie, she is however best friends with Sav and Maia and occasionally Kylie, as she respects the girl’s morals and values to wait. She’s got a good heart and she does believe in love, having seen it firsthand with her parents. She doesn’t want to rush into something that will bite her in the ass. Until it’s something real, mainly with Talan, she doesn’t want a relationship, keeping it casual.

Ethan Lewis Mahoney

18 years old

Born on April 22nd

Nickname: E, Ma-Honey (by Sav…a childhood nickname because she mispronounced his surname in pre-K) and Mahone (by Sav and Noah)

Goal: NYFA or USA, aspires to be a director

Interests: Photography, Smoking Weed, Directing, Writing, Making Films, Comic Books, Hot Wings, Tacos, Horror Movies, and Spicy Foods

Crushing on Savanna Birkhart, his best friend since Pre-K.

Summary: Ethan prefers to spend his time, directing school plays, photographing things, his muse is often Savanna, often taking a lot of her photos for her portfolio. But he’s not a creep about it, she asks him and he obliges because he loves her and knows that she will be a phenomenal model one day. He works for the school newspaper as the head photographer after Noah asked him to when his OG photographer graduated two years ago. While no desires to be a sports guy, Ethan does enjoy watching them. He’s more on the artistic side, preferring to be on the opposing side like behind his lenses or making the productions. He’s the son of Celebrity Chef, Eleanor White (formerly Mahoney) and her philandering Award winning Actor ex husband, Lyle Mahoney. Ethan is the middle of three children that the couple bore before divorcing, he has an older sister named Isla Mahoney who’s currently working at Vogue as a social media advisor, and he has a younger brother named Noel Mahoney who’s the same as age as Sav’s younger brother, Six. He has dated in the past and even had sex a few times, but none of them compared…compared to Savanna. She’s been the object of his affection since he was in preschool, he loved her even before he knew what love was. They even shared their first kiss together. Ethan was right on track with own planning tactics to telling Savanna how he felt until Levi happened. Levi was at one point his best friend, he swooped in and asserted his claim on Savanna, buying her off with lavish gifts and court side seats. He didn’t blame Sav, Levi gave her a story of lies that he always been in love with her and he was too scared to make a move, the gifts didn’t get her…the lies of Levi did. From then on, Ethan had to watch the girl of his dreams be paraded around like a trophy by his former best friend. Things have been rocky ever since, with both guys only getting along for the sake of Savanna. But he wants it’s to be different especially after he hears some interesting news about Levi’s infidelity…he’s just hoping Savanna will believe him and not Levi.

#series #remember the daze #inanna sarkis #liam hemsworth #crystal westbrooks #alex pettyfer #alexa demie #aaron taylor johnson #hayley kiyoko #lily collins #trevor jackson #avan jogia #characters #character concept #oc #fiction

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azalee-bolo · 4 years ago

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Vu : The lost city of Z – James Gray

/ALERTE SPOIL\ : JE VAIS DÉTAILLER TOUT LE FILM, C’EST LE BUT DE LA RUBRIQUE, DONC SI VOUS VOULEZ VOIR CETTE MERVEILLE ET LIRE MON TRUC APRÈS SACHEZ QU’IL PASSE CE SOIR SUR LA 7 /JE VOUS INVITE D’AILLEURS À FAIRE DES RECHERCHES COMPLÉMENTAIRES CAR L’HISTOIRE EST AUTHENTIQUE\

PRÉ-CONTEXTE :

[Avant tout chose j'aimerais vous conseiller la BO du film qui est juste, hypnotisante je trouve, peut-être cela saura accompagner votre lecture]

J'ai su dès les premiers instants que ce film avait quelque chose de spécial dans sa réalisation puis dans son histoire.

Je sors de table et me cale sur le canapé, à l’écran télé, un film Arte. Je suis d’assaut perturbée par les couleurs et les plans (vraiment je beugue sur place) au point de me dire que ça doit être hyper nul comme film. Je crois que je suis restée pour la musique et parce que c’était intrigant.

[Maintenant que j’essaie de me rappeler, je crois bien que je n’ai pas vu le début du début mais de toute manière vous verrez que je ne m’intéresse dans cet article, pas tant aux personnages ni à leur petite vie mais comme j’y réfléchis, je vais faire un effort à ce niveau-là.]

CONTEXTE :

En 1906, Percy Fawcett, militaire accompli, est convoqué par la société royale de géographie de Londres pour délimiter la frontière entre la Bolivie et le Brésil, dans le cadre d’un conflit entre les deux pays. Il part donc accompagné d’une poignée d’hommes, avec l’espoir de parvenir à destination et d’être donc les premiers à pénétrer des terres inviolées.

Voilà, nous y sommes ; plongés dans un paysage verdoyant, un climat humide et tropical, imaginons-nous entourés de la plus grande forêt du monde à une époque où personne n’avait osé s’attaquer à notre immense climatiseur terrien (j’ai appris que ce n’était pas le poumon vert :|). Un orchestre magnifique ainsi que les chants et cliquetis des animaux qui nous entourent, nous suivent dans ce voyage primitif.

CONTENU :

1. Arrivés dans un petit village, Percy et ses hommes cherchent un guide pour pouvoir s’aventurer dans l’Amazone. Ils trouvent un autochtone qui déclare à plusieurs reprises qu'il existe au bout de ce fleuve, une cité d'or, mais celui-ci passe pour un fou auprès des topographes.

2. Après des jours de torture sur un radeau où les provisions commencent à se faire rares, et où ils subissent plusieurs attaques de tribus, ils parviennent à destination. Mais une fois les relevés cartographiques faits, ils découvrent des vestiges anciens datant à peu près de l'Antiquité.

3. À la suite de cette première épopée, ils rentrent à Londres et donnent une conférence pour dévoiler l'idée d'une civilisation antérieure à la civilisation occidentale - en l’occurrence à cette époque, blanche - qui est imprégnée par la bigoterie de l'église ; 'Quel est le véritable enjeux ? Si nous venons à découvrir une cité là où nous considérions qu'il ne pouvait pas en exister, cela pourrait ouvrir un chapitre inédit de l'histoire de l'humanité'. Malgré les preuves probantes qu'il présentent, ils sont moqués de tous, mais soutiennent que 'Z [le nom donné à la cité perdue] est la dernière pièce manquante au puzzle de l'humanité'.

4. Personne ne veut y croire, ils décident donc de partir à nouveau pour démontrer leur découverte ; 'J'ai de si grands espoirs, grâce à ce voyage nous seront peut-être en mesure de démolir leurs petites convictions étriquées'. De retour en périple, ils lisent dans les nouvelles que des Américains ont découvert le Machu Picchu ; 'ils veulent une part de notre gloire […] ça prouve l'étendue de ce qu'il y a à découvrir'.

5. Ils tombent sur une population d'autochtones et sympathisent avec eux, plusieurs jours s’écoulent et ils découvrent qu'elle n'est pas si primitive qu'ils ne l'avaient jugée. Ils poursuivent ensuite leur expédition et après de nombreux obstacles, ils rebroussent finalement chemin car un de leur coéquipier les trahi.

7. Le protagoniste est envoyé à la grande guerre, une voyante qui apporte une aide spirituelle aux soldats lui dit ; 'tu ne peux pas échapper à cette vision, l'objet de ta quête est bien plus grand que tout ce que tu as jamais imaginé, [...] ton âme ne sera en paix que quand tu auras trouvé cet inconnu, tel est ton destin, avec cela tu illumineras le monde', tout le monde est ébahi.

8. Il survit à un combat malgré de graves blessures concernant sa vue, mais guérit au bout de quelques années durant lesquelles il finit par abandonner son rêve. Jusqu'à ce qu'un jour, son fils Jack fasse appel à des journalistes pour interroger son père sur ses aventures et qu’il lui demande de reprendre l’expédition à ses côtés ; ‘Les Américains vont débarquer là-bas avec leurs fusils, il ne reste plus qu’à prier qu’ils n’exterminent pas les Indiens, nous devons trouver Z avant eux.’

9. L’expédition est annoncée après une dizaine d’années d’abstention. Avant de partir, Percy confie au directeur de la société royale de géographie - qui fait partie des investisseurs - ; ‘voilà maintenant 20 ans que cette boussole ne me quitte pas : quand nous atteindrons Z, je vous l’enverrai en guise de signe, au cas où je déciderai de ne pas revenir…’

10. Les voilà embarqués une énième fois dans cette quête extraordinaire. Une fois dans la forêt, ils parcourent leur chemin vers l’endroit où est supposé se trouver la cité Z. Ils rencontrent une tribu qui les accueille chaleureusement et leur indique une piste, c’est dans la dernière lettre que Percy envoie à sa femme il remarque ; 'Le chef s’est montré très généreux avec nous, son attitude me rappelle une nouvelle fois, que nous sommes tous fait de la même arche' puis conclu ; ‘Tu n’as à redouter aucun échec.’

11. Le père et son fils quittent le lieu et se retrouvent plus tard piégés entre 2 tribus qui se combattent, ils sont capturés par l’une d’elles. À genoux dans une cérémonie dont ils ne connaissent pas la fin, les Indiens sont rassemblés autour d’eux [je suis certaine que les indiens savaient qu'ils viendraient]. Tandis que le destin des 2 hommes est entre leurs mains, Percy dit ; ‘Sois fort, il ne nous arrivera rien, nous avons un autre destin', Jack pense qu'ils vont mourir et celui-ci lui répond ; 'La vie est tellement empreinte de mystère mon fils, nous savons si peu de ce monde, mais toi et moi avons accompli un voyage que le commun des hommes ne saurait imaginer, et ce voyage aura éclairé ton cœur.'

12. Les Indiens leur tendent un bol rempli d’une substance qu’ils sont contraints d’avaler. Avant de succomber soit dans le sommeil, soit dans la mort, Percy se remémore un dîner où sa femme lui partageait les mots qu’elle avait écrit au cas où elle n’aurait pas survécu à l’accouchement de leur fils : ‘[…] Apprends-lui constamment à rêver, à chercher l'inconnu, à voir, car la beauté est en elle-même une récompense […], il faut vouloir saisir plus qu'on ne peut étreindre, sinon à quoi le ciel servirait-il ?'

13. Le plan enchaîne sur sa femme en deuil qui se présente au directeur de l'institution de géographie qui lui dit qu'il faut 'accepter l'inéluctable', elle lui répond ; 'Vous, ne perdez pas espoir, je n'ai pas le droit de douter, après y avoir sacrifié autant d'années, c'est également devenu, ma raison de vivre'. Elle lui montre ensuite la fameuse boussole qu’un Brésilien lui a remis pour qu'elle la lui donne ; 'Percy lui a dit que vous <comprendriez> […], c'est forcément un signe'. Il semble chamboulé et lui répond qu'il la fera examiner. Le plan se termine sur le reflet, à travers un miroir, d’elle qui sors du bâtiment, pour entrer… dans une forêt…

ANALYSE :

Bon là, la question que je me serai posée même si j’ai du mal à être objective ce serait : ‘putain de bordel de merde, MAIS OÙ EST-IL ?’ Eh bien pour répondre à votre question intérieure, on ne sait pas. Plusieurs expéditions ont été menées afin de retrouver le colonel et ses hommes, sans qu’aucune trace d’ossements n’ait été trouvée. Ce grand mystère a alimenté tout un tas d’hypothèses concernant ce qu’il est devenu : des Indiens affirment l'avoir vu avec une princesse indienne, un homme a rapporté au 2ème fils de Percy Fawcett avoir vu son père vivant, d’autres disent qu'il a finalement découvert la cité perdue et qu'il a décidé de ne plus retourner vers la civilisation, … Bref, on ne sait pas.

À l’époque et on s’en aperçoit bien dans le film, l’existence d’une civilisation antérieure à celle occidentale paraît tout bonnement absurde, rappelez-vous qu’à cette époque on est 100 ans après l’abolition de l’esclavage – évènement datant de 200 ans avant nos jours du coup -, c'est bien loin des mouvement comme ‘black lives matter’, voilà, c’est pour vous dire. Donc nous sommes sur un ethnocentrisme conséquent, qui empêche d’avancer dans une démarche scientifique plutôt que sur des convictions collectives. On était aussi loin de s’imaginer que de réelles sociétés puissent subsister dans un endroit aussi insalubre, dû à la forte humidité, les hautes températures et les fréquentes précipitations.

Pourtant, les récentes découvertes archéologiques permises À CAUSE de la déforestation (‘y’a du positif haha’) ont montré la présence de routes, formant un réseau qui relierait d’immenses cités - sans macrocéphalie comme nous pouvons le voir dans nos États actuels – et de bâtiments aux formes géométriques (je vois les adeptes de complotisme venir). Une autre preuve qui permet de soutenir cette théorie est la présence d’une terre anthropogénique – créée par l’humain – appelée terra preta ou terre noire, cette terre particulière d’une fertilité exceptionnelle serait présente sur 3% de la forêt tropicale amazonienne (c’est beaucoup), compte tenu de sa richesse en nutriments elle aurait servi à nourrir une population dense grâce à une agriculture remarquablement maîtrisée. On peut d'ailleurs retrouver au sein de ces terres des restes de monoculture, de mêmes espèces végétales ont donc été réparties de manière artificielle. Enfin, les vestiges que retrouve Percy au début du film sont loin d'être uniques, on peut trouver un peu partout des morceaux de terre cuite datant d'à peu près entre -200 et -700.

Bon, avec tous ces éléments en poche, on pourrait admettre que le Perceval Fawcett et son fils - ils étaient par ailleurs accompagnés d'un ami de Jack - sont parvenus à atteindre Z, et c'est ce que sous-entendait le film. Pourtant c'est encore dur à avaler, on n'a retrouvé nulle cité d'or dans cet endroit, et cette histoire ressemble toujours à une légende.

Quelque chose qui m'a impressionnée dans le film, qui m'a convaincue même (après vous me direz 'mais c'est une oeuvre !', seulement à mes yeux c'est aussi le reflet d'une réalité), c'est la détermination de Percy. Il a l'air de savoir au plus profond de lui que la cité Z existe, des signes sont parsemés ci et là malgré le fait que presque personne ne croie en lui et pourtant il les poursuit jusqu'à sa mort (enfin ça on en sait rien mais du moins jusqu'à ce que nous en savons de cette histoire). En plus ce n'est pas n'importe qui cet homme, je dis au début de l'article que je ne m'intéresse pas à son passé mais j'y ai bien été contrainte (surtout que je viens d'avoir un bouquin l��-dessus - 'la cité perdue de Z' par David Grann pour ceux que ça intéresse -) et je me rends bien compte qu'il est important de savoir qui il est. C'est quelqu'un de très respectable et respecté, par son parcours - il est suivi de près par beaucoup - et par sa prestance - c'est un homme grand, mince qui semble s'en foutre allègrement ce que vous pouvez penser -. Je m'interroge ici sur sa fatalité, parallèlement à son ambition inébranlable ainsi qu'à sa bonté d'esprit. À mon avis peu importe la manière dont il est parti, c'est une personne qui a quitté le monde en paix et c'est ce qui moi me fait croire à cette cité perdue d'Amazonie..

#Vu #MerceArte #TheLostCityOfZ

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