The Mosquito Coast

Written in the mid-19th century, Henry David Thoreau’s Walden posited that happiness should be sought in the American wilderness, but in Paul Theroux’s novel The Mosquito Coast, written over a century later, it turns out that no such wilderness remains in the U.S.—capitalism has squeezed the land dry, and happiness must be sought in the jungles of South America.

Allie Fox (Harrison Ford in his second collaboration with Weir) is a bitter inventor, spewing hatred toward modern America at least as fiercely as Travis Bickle did in Taxi Driver (this comes as no surprise: Theroux’s novel was adapted for Weir by Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of that masterpiece). Fox decides to move with his entire family to the South American jungle and build his own small utopia there, all the while engaged in an ideological dispute with a religious leader named Spellgood (played by André Gregory, memorable from My Dinner with André and and no less spiritual than there).

The Mosquito Coast is the only box-office flop in Weir’s career: a film brimming with bitterness and frustration, placing at its center not so much the intriguing world of a mystic as a bitter and angry misanthrope. Nevertheless, it remains fascinating; the massive ice-making machine constructed by Allie looks as if it were taken straight from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and Butterfly McQueen’s performance as Mrs. Kennywick deserves special attention (the actress had become famous as Prissy nearly five decades earlier in Gone with the Wind [1939]).

Michał Oleszczyk

Peter Weir (b. 1944) – director, screenwriter, and producer, and one of the central figures of the Australian New Wave. In the 1970s, he played a crucial role in establishing Australian cinema on the international stage, creating films marked by an atmosphere of mystery, spirituality, and quiet unease. He later transitioned smoothly from auteur filmmaking to Hollywood while retaining his distinctive voice, consistently exploring outsiders, individuals in conflict with systems of power, and the metaphysical dimensions of reality. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Weir has received numerous major honours, including an Honorary Oscar (2022) and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (2024). He is a master of intelligent yet accessible cinema – one who has reached global audiences without ever sacrificing artistic depth or sensitivity.

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