James Gray's new feature, The Lost City of Z, is based on a true tale of a British military man, Percy Fawcett, (Charlie Hunnam) who becomes an explorer in search of (you guessed it) a lost city in the Amazon. That search becomes an increasingly desperate obsession, and The Lost City of Z turns from being an adventure story to something much darker (Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness comes to mind).

The trailer teases the perils of such exploration, but also shows what a visually stunning and gorgeous film Gray has created. Even in this brief teaser, you can feel the humidity and the heat and the bugs -- though thankfully all from a safe distance. And yet, there's also a strong sense of Fawcett's drive that becomes a kind of madness as he is desperate to find this fabled city.

Check out this new teaser below:

Our own Chris Cabin said in his review of the film at the New York Film Festival:

From the outset, this humid, deeply human movie, directed by James Gray, comes on like a classic adventure tale, one where a governmentally decorated go-getter seeks discovery, excitement, and a sterling reputation in an unknown land where his life is worth little more than a possible dinner for a hungry local tribe. […] And yet, Gray’s adaptation of David Grann‘s beloved bestseller is a far quieter, more ruminative, and confidently intimate movie than all that would suggest. […] One would hope on the evidence of this movie, this masterpiece, that Gray would have studios lining up to back whatever his next movie might be.

The Lost City of Z premieres April 14th. Below is a synopsis for the film via Film Society of Lincoln Center, as well as newly released images:

James Gray’s emotionally and visually resplendent epic tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Percy Fawcett (a remarkable Charlie Hunnam), the British military-man-turned-explorer whose search for a lost city deep in the Amazon grows into an increasingly feverish, decades-long magnificent obsession that takes a toll on his reputation, his home life with his wife (Sienna Miller) and children, and his very existence. Gray and cinematographer Darius Khondji cast quite a spell, exquisitely pitched between rapture and dizzying terror. Also starring Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, The Lost City of Z represents a form of epic storytelling that has all but vanished from the landscape of modern cinema, and a rare level of artistry.

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Image via Amazon Studios
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Image via Amazon Studios
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Image via Amazon Studios