|
Mosquito
coast
|
Movie
| Book
| Author
| Director
& cast
|
Book: Mosquito Coast (1982)
Movie: Mosquito Coast (1986)
Premise
movie:
"Allie Fox has never been a man to do things by the
book. An avid inventor, he is a troubled
genius given to intense moods and an incredible drive. Seemingly on a whim, he shifts his
family to the jungles of Central America, telling his children that
America "is gone". Determined to create a civilization better than
the one he has abandoned, Fox's obsession and mania might pull his
family through, or it might pull them apart."
from:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091557/plotsummary
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Premise
book:
"Allie Fox is sick of the fast foods, television,
crime, bad workmanship, and cheap imports. He is interested in the
lifestyle of the Central American migrant workers who work for his
boss and thus he decides that the answer is to start a new life in
the jungles of Honduras. Fox moves his wife and four children from
Hatfield, Massachusetts to a remote overgrown clearing on the
Mosquito Coast, which he believes is untainted by the
modern world. The story is told from the view point of his son Charlie, who
admires his father for "not settling for any average Crusoe sort of
living." Father builds a solid house (by going down to the beach to
collect what is washed in from the world), has running water, toilet
and laundry. Once this monumental task is complete, he decides to
give a gift to the natives - ice. So he builds a monstrous machine
out of old pipes to turn "fire into ice." Naturally, Allie Fox's
actions are full of contradictions. Never mind his premise that this
is a untainted region of the world. He soon finds that the natives
know about ice and worse - Christianity. What works so well in this
story is that it is told through the eyes of Charlie. Children
naturally believe in their parents, but at the same time they have
their own inner sense. The Mosquito Coast is well written, humorous
and a thought provoking adventure story."
from:
http://mostlyfiction.com/contemp/theroux.htm
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Author:
"Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1941 and
published his first novel, Waldo in 1967. His subsequent novels
include The Family Arsenal, Picture Palace, The Mosquito Coast, O-Zone, Millroy the Magician, My Secret History, My Other Life, and
Kowloon Tong. His highly acclaimed travel books include Riding the
Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express,
and Fresh Air Fiend. The Mosquito Coast and Dr. Slaughter have both
been made into successful films. He was the guest editor of The Best
American Travel Writing (Houghton Mifflin, October 2001). Theroux is
a frequent contributor to magazines including Talk and Men's
Journal. He divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian
Islands, where he is a professional beekeeper."
Paul Theroux quotes:
"Extensive traveling induces a feeling of encapsulation, and travel,
so broadening at first, contracts the mind. "
"Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us. "
"Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be
asked to do a thing. "
from:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm?page=
author&authorID=886
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Director:
Peter Weir
Cast:
Harrison Ford (Allie Fox), Hellen Mirren (Mother Fox), River
Phoenix (Charlie Fox), Conrad Roberts (Mr. Haddy), Andre Gregory
(Rev. Spellgood), Martha Plimpton (Emily Spellgood), Dirk O'Neill
(Mr. Polski) and others.
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