The Lost City

Dream projects often turn out badly, and though actor (and first-time director) Andy Garcia's long-planned epic about the coming of Fidel Castro's revolution is earnest and visually elegant, it's also narratively amorphous and emotionally desiccated. The Lost City is a variant of Casablanca, in which Garcia plays Fico, an apolitical owner of a Havana nightclub, whose two younger brothers join the resistance against the brutal Batista regime, while his professor father and tobacco farmer uncle remain uncommitted. After one sibling is killed, Fico becomes romantically involved with his beautiful widow, but when the revolution succeeds, she chooses to stay, while he decides to flee the island for the United States because his freedom of artistic choice is suppressed. The most poignant aspects of The Lost City center on the older generation, who are—unfortunately—kept on the dramatic sidelines; by contrast, Garcia comes across as tentative and the romantic subplot never generates much heat. There are also odd digressions: one involves Dustin Hoffman in a cameo as mobster Meyer Lansky, while the worst finds Bill Murray playing a character known (pretentiously) only as “The Writer,” who serves as a sort of cynical Greek chorus to the action. The Lost City is a film worth of admiration, overall, but also one that's hard to be passionate about. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a short intro by filmmaker and costar Andy Garcia, audio commentary (by Garcia, costar Nestor Carbonell, and production designer Waldermar Kalinowski), a 38-minute “making-of” documentary, 10 deleted scenes with optional commentary (13 min.), a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, text notes from the cast and crew, original poster art, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)