The Mosquito Coast (1986)
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A disillusioned inventor leads his family into the jungles of Central America to build a utopian civilization, only to find his vision collapsing into a violent dystopia.
The story
Inventor Allie Fox, fed up with American consumerism and fearing a looming nuclear war, decides to take his family to the jungles of Central America to build a new life. After acquiring components to build an ice machine called 'Fat Boy,' the family travels to Belize. Allie purchases a small village in the rainforest called Jeronimo, where he attempts to establish an 'advanced' civilization. While the locals initially welcome them, a religious missionary named Reverend Spellgood arrives, creating a deep ideological schism between Allie's secular vision and Spellgood's religious zealotry.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Allie Fox, an inventor who believes a nuclear war is imminent due to American greed, takes his family to the jungle village of Jeronimo in Belize to build a utopia. He constructs a massive ice machine, but his efforts are complicated by the arrival of Reverend Spellgood, who seeks to convert the villagers. The tension escalates as Allie builds a giant version of his ice machine. After a failed attempt to supply ice to a mountain tribe, Allie discovers that Spellgood has convinced much of the populace to leave, leaving the town vulnerable to armed rebels. Allie traps the rebels in his ice machine, causing an explosion that ruins his home and pollutes the river. The family flees to the coast, where Allie claims the U.S. has been destroyed and tries to build a houseboat utopia. However, his children, Charlie and Jerry, grow resentful and discover the U.S. is still intact. They learn that Emily Spellgood will help them escape Allie's control. Allie sets Spellgood's church on fire, and Spellgood shoots him, paralyzing him. The family escapes on a boat as Allie drifts in and out of consciousness before eventually dying.
- First release year
- 1986
- Runtime (minutes)
- 117
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Weir
- Writers
- Paul Schrader · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Harrison Ford · Allie Fox; Helen Mirren · Margot "Mother" Fox; River Phoenix · Charlie Fox; Conrad Roberts · Mr. Haddy; Andre Gregory · Reverend Spellgood; Martha Plimpton · Emily Spellgood; Melanie Boland · Mrs. Spellgood; Dick O'Neill · Mr. Polski
- Genres
- drama; adventure; thriller
- Themes
- Utopianism; Consumerism vs. Simplicity; Religious Zealotry; Nuclear Anxiety; Family Dynamics
- Tone and mood
- Dystopian; Claustrophobic; Erratic; Exhausting
- Premise and plot tags
- Adventure; Drama; Survival; Dystopian; Survivalist
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1981 novel by Paul Theroux
- Reception
- The film was initially a critical and commercial disappointment but has since received much stronger modern reviews. It received mixed to average scores from critics, with some praising Harrison Ford's performance while others found the narrative flat or claustrophobic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 78% · review count: 27; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 12
- Production trivia
- Jack Nicholson was originally offered the lead role but backed out over salary disputes.; The film contains the last feature film role of Butterfly McQueen.; Then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan viewed the film at Camp David on November 22, 1986.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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