#3 THE MOSQUITO COAST (1986)
Clearly, Lia and I have a thing for Harrison Ford.
Based on the book by Paul Theroux, “The Mosquito Coast” tells the story of an eccentric patriarch who drags his family to Central America in hopes of creating a Utopian society away from America’s capitalistic grip. Ford plays Allie Fox, who as the father of his clan is both charming, brilliant, and completely psychotic. Helen Mirren plays his wife in a completely different role than her more recent steely performances as the Queen or detective Jane Tennison in the awesome BBC television series, “Prime Suspect.” The late and great River Phoenix plays the eldest son, Charlie, in typical amazing range.
The film is mesmerizing, not only for its suspense and great acting but backdrop. The actual Mosquito Coast runs along the Atlantic side of Nicaragua and Honduras, and is one of the most beautiful and remote areas of the world. I was in La Mosquitia a few years ago, a portion in northeastern Honduras.
To get there, we flew in a tiny prop plane from La Ceiba and landed in a grassy field. We then took a dugout canoe deep into the rainforest where we observed some of the most incredible wildlife: crocodiles, toucans, monkeys, and tropical foliage. From there we traveled by foot 15 miles deeper in the forest and stayed in a beautiful little village. The people who lived there were hospitable, friendly, and cooked wonderful meals of plantains, rice, and chicken for us.
While it’s easy to romanticize these parts of the world, these areas are obviously extremely poor and have their own set of issues. Ford’s character believed he could make a difference, and when things go horribly wrong for him, it’s not pretty.
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