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The Mosquito Coast (1986)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
26 November 1986 (USA)
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Tagline:
Allie Fox followed his dream to the Mosquito Coast. He planned a paradise. He created a Hell. more
Plot:
An eccentric and dogmatic inventor sells his house and takes his family to Central America to build an ice factory in the middle of the jungle...
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes.
Another 1 win
&
1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
10 Most Unforgettable Peter Weir Movies
(From The Movie Fanatic. 26 August 2009, 7:55 AM, PDT)
10 Most Unforgettable Peter Weir Movies
(From The Movie Fanatic. 26 August 2009, 7:55 AM, PDT)
(From The Movie Fanatic. 26 August 2009, 7:55 AM, PDT)
10 Most Unforgettable Peter Weir Movies
(From The Movie Fanatic. 26 August 2009, 7:55 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
The Missionaries
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Harrison Ford | ... | Allie Fox | |
| Helen Mirren | ... | Mother Fox | |
| River Phoenix | ... | Charlie Fox | |
| Conrad Roberts | ... | Mr. Haddy | |
| Andre Gregory | ... | Reverend Spellgood | |
| Martha Plimpton | ... | Emily Spellgood | |
| Dick O'Neill | ... | Mr. Polski | |
| Jadrien Steele | ... | Jerry Fox | |
| Michael Rogers | ... | Francis Lungley | |
| Hilary Gordon | ... | April Fox | |
| Rebecca Gordon | ... | Clover Fox | |
| Jason Alexander | ... | Hardware Clerk | |
| Alice Heffernan-Sneed | ... | Mrs. Polski (as Alice Sneed) | |
| Tiger Haynes | ... | Mr. Semper | |
| William Newman | ... | Captain Smalls |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
117 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:10 |
South Korea:All |
Netherlands:6 |
Australia:PG |
Argentina:13 |
Finland:K-8 |
Norway:12 |
Spain:18 |
Sweden:11 |
UK:PG |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Goofs:
Continuity: While Allie Fox and his family are being lashed by violent winds and near horizontal rain during a hurricane a couple of palm trees in the background are standing perfectly still.
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Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 44th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1987) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Chuluya Mama
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Weir is a fantastic director who knows how to leverage star power to the film's advantage. The result is one of Ford's best performances. This is a tragedy about a prolifically talented inventor without a shred of compromise in his soul. He is utterly true to himself and his aspirations, and can't come to terms with the industrialized world because it cherishes mediocrity. To him, that world is on the verge of extinction, and its only salvation lies in the jungle from which civilization sprang. The character of Allie Fox is an interesting contrast to his Fundamentalist adversary because they are so similar. Like Fox, Fundamentalists abhor the natural world, which is full of incongruence. Their "mission" is to terraform society by creating an architecture of straight edges and simple dichotomies. Fire from ice. Salvation from 'savagery'. Both are doomed, because nature's crooked. And that's torture for people who can't compromise.
Some playful homages to Ford's past work here. Watch how Fox faces off with Reverand Spellgood. In one shot, our point of view is like a western standoff, or something out of Star Wars. In another, he races through the jungle directly into the camera's eye. This is pure Spielbergian vocab.
This is a close kindred to a couple of Werner Herzog's films, most notably Fitzcarraldo.