Mosquito Coast

Mosquito Coast, motion picture about an inventor who takes his family to live a utopian life in the jungles of Central American, based on the 1982 novel by Paul Theroux. Released in 1986, this film was directed by Peter Weir and features a screenplay written by Paul Schrader. Harrison Ford stars as Allie Fox, who invents a machine that can produce ice even in very warm climates. He moves his family into the jungle, away from what he considers decaying American civilization, and they set up the machine and begin life anew. The same restlessness that makes Fox an inventor also makes him continually dissatisfied with their situation, and he begins to push for more change and larger sacrifices from his family. Things do not go as he expects, and everyone around him experiences much hardship.

Director

• Peter Weir

Cast

• Harrison Ford (Allie Fox)
• Helen Mirren (Mother)
• River Phoenix (Charlie)
• Jadrien Steele (Jerry)
• Hilary Gordon (April)
• Rebecca Gordon (Clover)
• Jason Alexander (Clerk)
• Dick O'Neill (Mr. Polski)
• Alice Sneed (Mrs. Polski)
• Tiger Haynes (Mr. Semper)
• William Newman (Captain Smalls)
• Andre Gregory (Reverend Spellgood)
• Melanie Boland (Mrs. Spellgood)
• Martha Plimpton (Emily Spellgood)
• Raymond Clare (First convert)
• Emory King (Man at bar)
• Conrad Roberts (Mr. Haddy)
• Michael Rogers (Francis Lungley)
• Tony Vega, Sr. (Mr. Maywit)
• Aurora Clavel (Mrs. Maywit)
• Butterfly McQueen (Ma Kennywock)
• Michael Opoku (Bucky)
• Aldolpho Salguero (Drainy)
• Rafael Cho (Leon)
• Sofia Cho (Alice)
• Margarita Cho (Verny)
• Wilfred Peters (Dixon)
• Luis Palacio (Peaselee)
• Juan Antonio Llanes (Mercenary)
• Abel Woodrich (Mercenary)
• Jorge Zepeda (Mercenary)

Quotes

• Allie Fox (after the family has become stranded on a barren island): “Everything we need is here. Right here. We can live simply: gardening, beach combing. I'm a changed man, mother. No more chemicals or poisons. If what you want isn't washed up on this beach, you probably don't need it.”