With Andy Garcia doing not much besides sulking or pining, 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 in Cuba before Fidel Castro.
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 unrequited love for Cuba.
Filmed in the Dominican Republic, 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.
But with the end of the Batista regime come Castro's communist warriors and Fellove's livelihood comes under threat.
Fico heads for the US, leaving his parents, the love of his life, Aurora, and his homeland.
