Reviews of new films & DVDs
With Andy Garcia doing not much besides sulking or pining, The Lost City feels like an awkward stab at a historical epic in the tradition of The Godfather trilogy or Once Upon a Time in America.
Directed by, co-produced by and starring Latino heartthrob Andy Garcia, the film is intended as an ode to the good old days before Fidel Castro burst onto the scene. However, with scenic shots, Latin music and cloying love scenes overwhelming the historical undertones, the film feels more like a vehicle for the debut director's vanity and unrequited love for Cuba.
Filmed in the Dominican Republic, The Lost City succeeds in recreating the charm of pre-Communist Havana. Garcia's character Fico Fellove is the suave owner of a swanky nightclub, El Tropico. The film traces his family's rise and fall as the political scene changes.
With the end of the Batista regime come Castro's communist warriors and evidence that the new ruler is more tyrant than liberator, and Fellove's livelihood comes under threat.
To break free, Fico heads for the US, leaving his parents, the love of his life Aurora (played by the mesmerising Ines Sastre) and his beloved homeland behind.