Oro : La Cité perdue

A misfit expedition formed by Spanish soldiers down the Amazon rivers searching for the fabled city created with gold , Dorado-alike , to claim it to the Spanish Empire . It is set in the 16th century , King Carlos de Ausburgo of España sends a bunch of Spanish soldiers to the new continent to locate Teziutlan , a legendary golden city . Alone in the rainforest and without a help , soldiers face not only indigenous tribes but the manifest hate themselves by their respective birth places . Commanded by the ruthless and insane Don Gonzalo (José Manuel Cervino) who leads the Spanish group in search of the fabulous city , accompanied by his young wife Doña Ana (Barbara Lennie) who is assisted by a maid , La Parda (Anna Castillo) . The elderly and weak health Don Gonzalo becomes in danger Doña Ana , who is disputed by Alférez Gorriamendi, (Oscar Jaenada) Gonzalo's right-hand , and soldier Martín Dávila (Raul Arevalo) . The travelers who are over-dressed for the heat in their old world clothes and armour must survive the crises of jungle life and human frailty . After to realize that Viceroy of Port Prince has send another bunch looking for them commanded by Juan Medrano after to accuse Don Gonzalo of betrayal ; Dávila, Gorriamendi and other soldiers as Sargento Bastaurrés (Jose Coronado) and Barbate (Antonio Dechent) must decide if fight against Medrano's and his men or continue until Teziutlan . Other import soldiers in the dangerous expedition are : Iturbe (Juan José Ballesta) , El Escribano or writer of their feats called Licenciado Ulzama (Andrés Gertrúdix) and the bigotry priest , Pater Vargas (Luis Callejo) . The river , jungle scenery and several dangers dominate the motley characters in the risked journey . But the twisted loves , envy , ambition , double-crosses , fights among them will reveal more violent than the own rainforest and the indigenous tribes .

This historical flick set in Amazon rainforest, 1538 , results to be a slow-moving and interesting film that contains epic events , impressive battles , thrills , betrayals , violence and wonderful scenarios in which take place the death clashes in a neverending search for a city built with gold similar to El Dorado . The picture has been criticized for its plodding plot in which emerges a strong rivalry and hate among the violent adventurers , with several moments of tension where the travelers must survive the crises of jungle life and human frailty . Good performance from a great main cast as Raúl Arévalo , Bárbara Lennie , Oscar Jaenada José Coronado .It contains an atmospheric and evocative musical score Javier Limón . Colorful but dark cinematography by the great cameraman Paco Femina . The plot bears remarkable resemblance to classic ¨Aguirre¨ by Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski and in 1988 was realized another version titled ¨El Dorado¨ by Carlos Saura ; because of a similarity in plot and characters, the movie suffers by comparison but stands on its own as a less fantastic version of the same travel of obsessed adventurers .

Agustin Diaz Yanes' return to top form , with an intelligent and engaging script which uses exciting situations to give us a good movie in slow pacing , engaging as well as violent events , plot twists and that kept me entertained for the almost 110 minutes of duration . Diaz Yanes is a fine craftsman , thanks to his reputation as screenwriter and the support of Victoria Abril he was able to set up his first film as director: "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead " that became the greatest hit of Spanish cinema at its release in 1995 and the Festival San Sebastian , including best actress to Victoria Abril . Yanes subsequently directed the successful ¨Alatriste¨ , "Don't Tempt Me" and ¨Solo Quiero Caminar¨ that failed at Spanish box office

I don't understand how the best Spanish actors can act so badly . The worst performance in their careers.

The actors well,i'm not good at remembering them from other spanish movies,but they do a very good job.I enjoy the movie very much,10 stars from my point of view.

I frankly don't understand the bad reviews concerning this action adventure film. This is for me a very good, gritty, taut movie, with plenty of action and riveting scenes, good characters depiction and symphony. This is not light hearted but rather gloomy, and desperate. You still can compare this one to Carlos Saura's ELDORADO and Werner Herzog's AGUIRRE; you can compare but that's all, the two latest movies are a bit - or even more - better than this one. Let's be fair. Anyway, this movie is worth watching, definitely, especially if you are fond of Spanish adventures in Amazonia forest in lust for gold. There were not so many of them.

Do not ask for another " aguirre der Zorn Gottes" (1972),Werner Herzog's masterwork will probably remain unsurpassed as far the subject is concernd .

But it does not mean that "oro" is a dud ; it certainly has qualities :the first one is the absence of real hero : who are the villains? Who are the good guys ?We are spared the traditional love story between the Dona and a chivalrous member of the trek : the woman is coveted by everyone and her virtue is put to the test all along the saga (dig the line: "he won't console anyone now!");in this green hell, the real enemies are the members themselves ,much more than the Indians who are most of the time invisible or their compatriots hot on their heels ; all these men are beyond any moral :where is good? In the priest 's words ,a naive man who wants to evangelize "those natives in the Devil's clutches " ? In the way the soldiers choose to die (the garrote being infamous) ?

Most likely in the old man's wisdom:he chose to marry an Indian girl who gave him children and he's settled in a small village where he waits for death ,not caring anymore for this gold that makes men kill each other with God on their side ; one should note that gore is kept to relatively economical levels (the caimans ,the snake, the slittings)

The atmosphere is stifling and nightmarish ,but the script leaves a lot to be desired and the characters are nor developed enough.