Lost City of Z

In the early years of the 20th century, soldier-explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) becomes obsessed with finding a great civilization that he’s convinced once existed deep in the Amazon jungle. Writer-director James Gray, adapting David Grann’s nonfiction book, has produced a refreshingly old-fashioned movie, hearkening back to the likes of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Mountains of the Moon (’90)—not as good as those, but good enough. Hunnam plays Fawcett with stiff-upper-lip idealism, matched by Sienna Miller as his smart, spirited wife. Cinematographer Darius Khondji and Gray etch a vivid picture of the Amazon and its unfamiliar inhabitants. Gray never quite pulls us into Fawcett’s obsession, but his respectful, respectable picture keeps us watching, interested if not deeply involved. J.L.