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The Lost City (2005 film)
Encyclopedia
The Lost City is a 2005 American drama film
directed by Andy García
. It stars Garcia, Dustin Hoffman
, Ines Sastre
, and Bill Murray
.
) is the owner of El Tropico, a swank nightclub in late 1950s Havana
. Fico lives for his family and his music, but the harsh realities of dictator Batista’s
regime threaten to destroy both. Brother Ricardo (Enrique Murciano
) becomes a Communist while brother Luis (Nestor Carbonell
) joins the democratic opposition. His father Federico (Tomas Milian
), a well-respected university professor, believes that Batista should be replaced by constitutional means.
When Ricardo is arrested for anti-regime activities and threatened with execution, Fico calls upon an old prep school friend, now a police captain (Captain Castel, played by Steven Bauer
), for help. Due to the intercession of Captain Castel, Ricardo is released from jail. Although Fico suggests that Ricardo should go to Miami or New York for a while, Ricardo refuses and instead joins a communist rebel band headed by Che Guevara
.
In addition to political intrigue, Fico is also approached by Meyer Lansky
(Dustin Hoffman
), a high ranking member of New York
's Genovese crime family
, who wishes to open up a gambling room at El Tropico. Fico however intends for his club to remain a place of music and turns down the offer. When a bomb later explodes at the club, killing the club’s star entertainer (who was also Fico’s love), Fico assumes that Lansky is behind it. However, in the increasingly unsettled climate, he cannot be certain.
Luis meanwhile becomes connected with the plot to seize the presidential palace, kill Batista, and restore democracy to Cuba. The plot fails and most of the attackers are killed. Luis escapes but is killed later by Batista’s secret police. At the urging of his mother, Fico tries to cheer up Luis’ distraught widow Aurora (Ines Sastre
). Fico and Aurora begin a relationship and fall in love, but events intervene: the Communists seize the power after Batista flees the country. Fidel Castro
declares there will be no elections and Che Guevara oversees the arrests and summary execution of all those who those thought to have supported the Batista regime. Among those arrested is Captain Castel. Fico seeks out his brother Ricardo, now a high-ranking officer in the new regime, for help. Despite Castel's having saved his life, Ricardo does nothing to prevent Castel’s execution.
Ricardo, who had otherwise distanced himself from his family, later visits his uncle Donoso (Richard Bradford
), a tobacco farmer and cigar maker. Donoso feels that while Castro may be in power now, “the land endures” and he says that the farm would one day pass to Ricardo. Ricardo, however, announces that the reason for his visit is to appropriate the farm for the state. In a fit of anger, Donoso has a heart attack and dies. Ricardo, overcome by grief, attends the funeral and shortly after commits suicide.
The revolution
also has its effects on Fico’s club. The musician’s union, now controlled by Castro, has declared the saxophone
to be an imperialist instrument and forbids its use. The club is eventually shut down on a flimsy pretext. After a chance meeting with Castro, Aurora is declared Revolutionary Widow of the Year and begins to work for the State. This causes Fico and Aurora to break apart.
Seeing the family torn apart and decimated by the revolution, Fico’s parents beg him to leave Cuba and build a new family. Reluctantly, Fico prepares to leave, procuring exit visas for himself and Aurora. In a last chance to convince her to leave, Fico barges in on a reception for revolutionary leaders and Soviet Bloc ambassadors. Aurora refuses to go. After a last toast to a free and democratic Cuba, Fico leaves the reception. He says his goodbyes to his parents (receiving his father’s prized pocket watch) and leaves Cuba. At the airport, most of his money and possessions (including his father’s watch) are taken from him.
Fico begins a new life in New York. Working as a dishwasher and piano player at a Cuban club, he hopes to save enough money to bring the remaining members of his family to America. He had also worked on the street. He again meets Meyer Lansky
, who offers Fico a Cuban nightclub in Las Vegas
. Fico again refuses. While cleaning up one night, he has another meeting with Aurora, who is in New York as part of a Cuban delegation to the United Nations
. He now realizes that Aurora is like Cuba: beautiful, alluring, but ultimately damaged and unattainable. He decides now that his cause is to build a new life until he can return to the city he lost. Fico recites a poem by Cuban nationalist Father José Martí
and opens a new nightclub in New York.
as Che Guevara
is shown after an ambush casually shooting a wounded Fulgencio Batista
soldier where he lies. Later in the film the Guevara character asks Andy Garcia's character why he "bothers with such scum", in reference to a former Batista officer who was executed that morning.
's "Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities" (BRAC) unit, executing a prisoner at la Cabana and shooting a wounded insurgent who had attempted to storm the Presidential palace during the growing popular rebellion.
appeared in the movie as the character of "the Writer". He shows up early in the movie asking Fico for a job, and hovers around Fico, commenting on the absurdities of life, though never playing a clear part in those absurdities. According to the “making of” video, the role is similar to that of a Greek chorus
and is really the personality of the movie's author G. Cabrera Infante. Again, according to the making-of video, Murray was given some latitude in improvising dialogue – the scene toward the end where Murray and Hoffman (as Meyer Lansky
) discuss egg cream
s was almost entirely improvised.
' collection of "top critics" gave the film a 23 % approval rating, with the stated consensus that "what starts as a promising exercise devolves into an overlong, unevenly directed disappointment."
Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice
critiqued the historical validity of the film, stating "Garcia's tale bemoans the loss of easy wealth for a precious few. Poor people are absolutely absent; Garcia and Infante seem to have thought that peasant revolutions happen for no particular reason—or at least no reason the moneyed 1 percent should have to worry about." Stephen Holden
of The New York Times
described the political dialogue in the film as "strictly of the junior high school variety" while opining that the "characters pontificate in generalities and aphorisms" making them "little more than stick figures with cartoon balloons pasted over their heads."
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
. It stars Garcia, Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, Ines Sastre
Inés Sastre
Inés Sastre is a Spanish model and actress.-Early life:Sastre's career started at the age of 12, when she was selected for a fast-food commercial with McDonald's. Her first movie appearance occurred in 1988 in El Dorado by Carlos Saura. In 1989, she was awarded the look of the year by the Elite...
, and Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
.
Plot
Fico Fellove (Andy GarcíaAndy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
) is the owner of El Tropico, a swank nightclub in late 1950s Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. Fico lives for his family and his music, but the harsh realities of dictator Batista’s
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
regime threaten to destroy both. Brother Ricardo (Enrique Murciano
Enrique Murciano
Enrique Ricardo Murciano is an American actor. He is best known for playing Special Agent Danny Taylor in the CBS drama Without a Trace.-Early life:...
) becomes a Communist while brother Luis (Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
) joins the democratic opposition. His father Federico (Tomas Milian
Tomas Milian
Tomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
), a well-respected university professor, believes that Batista should be replaced by constitutional means.
When Ricardo is arrested for anti-regime activities and threatened with execution, Fico calls upon an old prep school friend, now a police captain (Captain Castel, played by Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer is a Cuban-American actor. He is known for his role as Manny Ribera in the 1983 film Scarface, and his role on the bilingual PBS show Que Pasa, USA.-Early life:...
), for help. Due to the intercession of Captain Castel, Ricardo is released from jail. Although Fico suggests that Ricardo should go to Miami or New York for a while, Ricardo refuses and instead joins a communist rebel band headed by Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
.
In addition to political intrigue, Fico is also approached by Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
(Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
), a high ranking member of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, who wishes to open up a gambling room at El Tropico. Fico however intends for his club to remain a place of music and turns down the offer. When a bomb later explodes at the club, killing the club’s star entertainer (who was also Fico’s love), Fico assumes that Lansky is behind it. However, in the increasingly unsettled climate, he cannot be certain.
Luis meanwhile becomes connected with the plot to seize the presidential palace, kill Batista, and restore democracy to Cuba. The plot fails and most of the attackers are killed. Luis escapes but is killed later by Batista’s secret police. At the urging of his mother, Fico tries to cheer up Luis’ distraught widow Aurora (Ines Sastre
Inés Sastre
Inés Sastre is a Spanish model and actress.-Early life:Sastre's career started at the age of 12, when she was selected for a fast-food commercial with McDonald's. Her first movie appearance occurred in 1988 in El Dorado by Carlos Saura. In 1989, she was awarded the look of the year by the Elite...
). Fico and Aurora begin a relationship and fall in love, but events intervene: the Communists seize the power after Batista flees the country. Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
declares there will be no elections and Che Guevara oversees the arrests and summary execution of all those who those thought to have supported the Batista regime. Among those arrested is Captain Castel. Fico seeks out his brother Ricardo, now a high-ranking officer in the new regime, for help. Despite Castel's having saved his life, Ricardo does nothing to prevent Castel’s execution.
Ricardo, who had otherwise distanced himself from his family, later visits his uncle Donoso (Richard Bradford
Richard Bradford
Richard Bradford was a novelist, best known for his 1968 novel Red Sky at Morning, a film version of which was released in 1971. He also wrote So Far from Heaven, a novel about the adventures of a disillusioned executive who flees his life in the city for a New Mexico cattle ranch. Mr...
), a tobacco farmer and cigar maker. Donoso feels that while Castro may be in power now, “the land endures” and he says that the farm would one day pass to Ricardo. Ricardo, however, announces that the reason for his visit is to appropriate the farm for the state. In a fit of anger, Donoso has a heart attack and dies. Ricardo, overcome by grief, attends the funeral and shortly after commits suicide.
The revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
also has its effects on Fico’s club. The musician’s union, now controlled by Castro, has declared the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
to be an imperialist instrument and forbids its use. The club is eventually shut down on a flimsy pretext. After a chance meeting with Castro, Aurora is declared Revolutionary Widow of the Year and begins to work for the State. This causes Fico and Aurora to break apart.
Seeing the family torn apart and decimated by the revolution, Fico’s parents beg him to leave Cuba and build a new family. Reluctantly, Fico prepares to leave, procuring exit visas for himself and Aurora. In a last chance to convince her to leave, Fico barges in on a reception for revolutionary leaders and Soviet Bloc ambassadors. Aurora refuses to go. After a last toast to a free and democratic Cuba, Fico leaves the reception. He says his goodbyes to his parents (receiving his father’s prized pocket watch) and leaves Cuba. At the airport, most of his money and possessions (including his father’s watch) are taken from him.
Fico begins a new life in New York. Working as a dishwasher and piano player at a Cuban club, he hopes to save enough money to bring the remaining members of his family to America. He had also worked on the street. He again meets Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
, who offers Fico a Cuban nightclub in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Fico again refuses. While cleaning up one night, he has another meeting with Aurora, who is in New York as part of a Cuban delegation to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. He now realizes that Aurora is like Cuba: beautiful, alluring, but ultimately damaged and unattainable. He decides now that his cause is to build a new life until he can return to the city he lost. Fico recites a poem by Cuban nationalist Father José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
and opens a new nightclub in New York.
Cast
- Andy GarcíaAndy GarcíaAndrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
as Fico Fellove - Inés SastreInés SastreInés Sastre is a Spanish model and actress.-Early life:Sastre's career started at the age of 12, when she was selected for a fast-food commercial with McDonald's. Her first movie appearance occurred in 1988 in El Dorado by Carlos Saura. In 1989, she was awarded the look of the year by the Elite...
as Aurora Fellove - Tomas MilianTomas MilianTomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
as Don Federico Fellove - Millie PerkinsMillie PerkinsMillie Perkins is an American film and television actress.Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Millie grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Her father was a merchant marine captain...
as Doña Cecilia Fellove - Richard BradfordRichard BradfordRichard Bradford was a novelist, best known for his 1968 novel Red Sky at Morning, a film version of which was released in 1971. He also wrote So Far from Heaven, a novel about the adventures of a disillusioned executive who flees his life in the city for a New Mexico cattle ranch. Mr...
as Don Donoso Fellove - Nestor CarbonellNestor CarbonellNestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
as Luis Fellove - Enrique MurcianoEnrique MurcianoEnrique Ricardo Murciano is an American actor. He is best known for playing Special Agent Danny Taylor in the CBS drama Without a Trace.-Early life:...
as Ricardo Fellove - Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
as Meyer LanskyMeyer LanskyMeyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States... - Bill MurrayBill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
as The Writer - Jsu GarciaJsu GarciaJsu Garcia is an American film and television actor, and film producer. In his earlier years, he was credited under the name Nick Corri. Together with author John-Roger, he runs the production company Scott J-R Productions....
as Che GuevaraChe GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
Che Guevara
In one scene of the film actor Jsu GarciaJsu Garcia
Jsu Garcia is an American film and television actor, and film producer. In his earlier years, he was credited under the name Nick Corri. Together with author John-Roger, he runs the production company Scott J-R Productions....
as Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
is shown after an ambush casually shooting a wounded Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
soldier where he lies. Later in the film the Guevara character asks Andy Garcia's character why he "bothers with such scum", in reference to a former Batista officer who was executed that morning.
Fulgencio Batista
The film however also depicts Cuban dictator at the time, Fulgencio BatistaFulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
's "Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities" (BRAC) unit, executing a prisoner at la Cabana and shooting a wounded insurgent who had attempted to storm the Presidential palace during the growing popular rebellion.
Bill Murray as "The Writer"
Bill MurrayBill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
appeared in the movie as the character of "the Writer". He shows up early in the movie asking Fico for a job, and hovers around Fico, commenting on the absurdities of life, though never playing a clear part in those absurdities. According to the “making of” video, the role is similar to that of a Greek chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
and is really the personality of the movie's author G. Cabrera Infante. Again, according to the making-of video, Murray was given some latitude in improvising dialogue – the scene toward the end where Murray and Hoffman (as Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
) discuss egg cream
Egg cream
An egg cream is a beverage consisting of chocolate syrup, milk, and soda water, probably dating from the late 19th century, and is especially associated with Brooklyn, home of its alleged inventor, candy store owner Louis Auster. It contains neither eggs, cream, nor ice cream.The egg cream is...
s was almost entirely improvised.
Critical response
The film generally received unfavorable reviews. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
' collection of "top critics" gave the film a 23 % approval rating, with the stated consensus that "what starts as a promising exercise devolves into an overlong, unevenly directed disappointment."
Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
critiqued the historical validity of the film, stating "Garcia's tale bemoans the loss of easy wealth for a precious few. Poor people are absolutely absent; Garcia and Infante seem to have thought that peasant revolutions happen for no particular reason—or at least no reason the moneyed 1 percent should have to worry about." Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the political dialogue in the film as "strictly of the junior high school variety" while opining that the "characters pontificate in generalities and aphorisms" making them "little more than stick figures with cartoon balloons pasted over their heads."
External links
- The Lost City Official site..