Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critics What's this?

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Universal acclaim- based on 49 Ratings

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  • Starring: ,
  • Summary: Andy Garcia stars and makes his directorial debut in a passionate and historical tribute to his native Cuba. (Magnolia Pictures)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 23
  2. Negative: 4 out of 23
  1. 75
    The movie evokes that long-ago world carefully and with a certain poetry; it was shot in the Dominican Republic. There is a lot of music, much of it from the period and performed by the same musicians or their successors.
  2. Some of the tropes of The Lost City are ineffective. What does work is the sense of loss. The late Cuban novelist and screenwriter G. Cabrera Infante finds a brilliant device in the love affair between Fico and Aurora (Ines Sastre), his sister-in-law, in that Aurora in some way becomes Cuba.
  3. 67
    Watching The Lost City is like falling into a delirious dream on a marathon train ride only to be roused every 15 minutes by a conductor punching your ticket or barking out the next stop.
  4. In its groggy way The Lost City holds your attention. Incoherent, but splendidly panoramic and drenched in wonderful Cuban music, it has the texture of a vivid, intoxicating dream that seems to mean something until you wake up and feel it slipping away. All that remains are feelings and impressions connected by a mood.
  5. Though the filmmaker's feel for his Cuban heritage is bone-deep, it's a glazed and dolorous movie - a depressed epic.
  6. Reviewed by: Tim Grierson
    Compelling in fits and starts, actor-director Andy Garcia's The Lost City possesses grand aspirations but troublesome execution.
  7. 25
    The Lost City is Andy Garcia's ballad to Havana during the Cuban revolution. You'll have to forgive the penthouse view, though -- it's the only one Garcia can seem to find.

See all 23 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 32
  2. Negative: 4 out of 32
  1. AmyB.
    May 2, 2008
    Mr Garcia i loved this movie, What a moving love story. I love Cuban food, music,culture and you really captured it all . I have been to Cuba, its sad what happened their. Expand
  2. MariaE.
    May 28, 2006
    I was very young when I left Cuba but seeing the movie with my Mom she relived her past and as the movie was happening, she would be explaining things to me. Cubans are very family oriented and this movie certainly depicts how communism affect even the closest family. The music is fabulous. This movie certainly needs more exposure and it would be nice to see a continuation of another movie similar to this one. American people need to see what we Cuban's went through and how our country was destroyed by Fidel Castro. Expand
  3. JimG
    May 14, 2006
    Actually, a very, very good movie. Beautiful cinematography and great music. I expected the story and directing to be tedious possibly, after reading some reviews. I now wonder why those reviewers couldn't follow what was being said. It all made sense to me, and it was told very well. I was in Havana last month and it is a beautiful city...that has deteriorated for years. Great trip in a country of contrasts. The people are beautiful and warm. Havana has the largest amount of colonial architecture in the Americas. I believe it can become a city like Prague in terms of tourist attraction. Yet the people are very poor. The visitors to the country use a different currency than the residents, and everything is divided along those lines. The children seem happy and there is universal education and healthcare. There is a sense of "The Revolution" everywhere and also a sense of waiting...... For things to change and get better. This movie gives a true perspective of how one dictator replaced another. I recommend the film to everyone. Expand
  4. LulusG.
    Jun 5, 2006
    Extremely moving, amazing cinematography and an extraordinary musical socre. Some criticts talk about historical inacuract. Extremely moving, amazing cinematography, and glorious music. Some critics talk about historical inaccuracies, mainly the portrayal of Che Guevara as an assassin. Ironically, the movie is historically accurate. Separate from his many recorded speeches, Che kept a diary up until his death and it he recounted in detail many of the killings "with a bullet to the temple" of uncooperative peasants and people suspect of not adhering to the revolution's dogma. His motto was 'When in doubt, kill him Expand
  5. MariH.
    May 28, 2006
    Refreshing to see a realistic perspective of the impact of the cuban revolution and a true portrayal of Che for the assasin that he was instead of how he has been portrayed by Hollywood in the past. Expand
  6. A.M.
    Sep 26, 2006
    I liked the story and the cinematography. The acting? Overall pretty good, although Bill Murray's character should have been axed, inappropiate and not funny. Dustin Hoffman's was too short and didn't add too much to the story. It was a little slow at times and could have been shortened. Ines Sastre was surprisingly good for a model... It just lacked something, can't put my finger on it. Directing maybe? It just didn't flow. Expand
  7. ChrisW.
    Aug 19, 2006
    Snoozefeast-a-palooza! There's so much talent on the screen and none of it comes through. A boring story that has way too many distractions. I never thought that I would be disapointed seeing Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, and Dustin Hoffman in the same movie and in the same scene! I guess there's a lesson to be learned from this movie... what it is... I have no idea. Expand

See all 32 User Reviews