Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix

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. Conflicts with his family, a local preacher and with nat...( read more  read more... )ure are only small obstacles to his obsession. Based upon a Paul Theroux novel.

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56% liked it

10,824 ratings

PG, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Peter Weir

Release Date: December 1, 1986

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DVD Release Date: November 6, 2001

Stats: 475 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (475)


  • September 16, 2009
    I believe this is Harrison Ford's best performance so far and certainly one of Peter Weir's best. It's the age old story of faith over science and how it affects one mans family and ultimately leads him into madness. It's a brilliant film. Whatever happened to Martha Plimpton tho...( read more)ugh?
  • July 20, 2008
    Harrison Ford in one of his earliest un-heroic roles as know-it-all inventor taking his family to the Central American jungle where things go bad rather soon as the eccentric father is getting more and more obsessed with his ideas and ideals, which ironically aren't better than t...( read more)he ones he is trying to leave behind. Ford convinces as a person who might have the right plans but can't admit mistakes or see the bigger picture, bringing his family into jeopardy. Avoiding stereotypes of other drop-out stories director Peter Weir doesn't judge his main character, aware that his actions and words speak for themselves. The combination of adventure movie and family drama works out fine, also thanks to the rest of a good cast and the good directing. Definitely worth checking out.
  • July 8, 2008
    Science vs. faith, The Mosquito Coast delves into the persistences of civilisation wrought onto the merits of fortune through hope or rewards through determination. Weir's delicate eye has lensed a gorgeous picture painted with the brush of a naturalist and with the moral clarity...( read more) of a poet. The film is a supreme enjoyment that manages to pack much into it's running time, hitting its strides on regular notes. Had it entered its domains with more ferocious input then it could have been astonishing, but instead it suffices for an impacting feature - more than can be said about most films.
  • September 29, 2007
    A decent movie, I guess - conceptually original and cinematographically interesting. It's also nice to see Harrison Ford play a character not franchised into a three-movie deal, accompanied by the very talented River Phoenix and Helen Mirren. Easy to watch with decent acting and ...( read more)effects, but there's really nothing to get excited about here.
  • April 25, 2007
    Ford's greatest performance.
  • October 30, 2009
    A movie where Harrison Ford continually pisses off his FAMILY.
  • October 2, 2009
    After Witness, people expected great things with this re-teaming of Ford and Weir. Most did not expect this. Ford plays Allie Fox, a genius inventor who becomes fed up with the U.S. and drags his family to Central America to create his own utopia. Widely panned by critics and a r...( read more)are box office flop for Ford, this intelligent film, which contains one of Ford's best performances, deserves much more notice.
  • August 2, 2009
    Good movie. Harrison Ford is wonderful in his role as an inventor who drags his family to S. America to start an knew life in the jungle. The Mosquito Coast is ultimately depressing, but it's a memorable tale all the same.
  • June 19, 2009
    Sanity never seemed more far away from a strange genius. His young son, played by an extraordinary River Phoenix, narrates the film and tells a tale of how his father nearly got his entire family killed.
  • May 24, 2009
    Top notch acting, directing and a beautiful/enigmatic choice of scenery. But above all, a fantastic story of a driven man on a quest to escape the momentum of mediocrity of modern civilization, and his struggle to establish a life for him and his family elsewhere, highly recommen...( read more)ded on all levels.

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The Mosquito Coast Trivia


  • Harrison Ford and River Phoenix star in 'Indiana Jones and the last crusade' together. What else do they star in together?  Answer »
  • Working Girl, Witness, Frantic, Mosquito Coast, The Devil's Own, Air Force One, What Lies Beneath, Firewall. Name the actor.  Answer »
  • In The Mosquito Coast, Allie Fox & his family leave the u.s and move to which country?  Answer »
  • Name the actor by their filmography. Stand By Me The Mosquito Coast Running On Empty My Private Idaho  Answer »

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