The Mosquito Coast

In Czech literature and film, dreamers, visionaries, seekers of alternative worlds, and enthusiasts of all kinds often take the form of sympathetic wanderers with a poetic view of the world, and they are associated with positive values and classified as positive characters. Harrison Ford as the head of a family obsessed with rejecting the civilization that created him gradually shows the hidden side of the personalities of such crazy individuals. What initially appears as a comedy about an unrecognized inventor gradually transforms into a drama about a self-centered eccentric who, in pursuit of his ideas, does not hesitate to poison the family atmosphere and endanger the very existence of his family. Unfortunately, it seems that Peter Weir was somewhat unsure and did not clarify in which genre he wanted to operate and what he wanted to convey with his film. In such a case, even a top actor is useless to him, or rather, his potential is not utilized as Ford's talent and dedication deserve. Overall impression: 45%. (05.09.2014)

Nature vs. technology. Ford excels in the role of a fanatical scientist who sacrifices everything for his vision. His sociological experiments don’t work out as well as his work concerning mechanics. The adventures of the Fox family (with the excellent River Phoenix as the oldest son) takes them through various situations even the idyllic ones have their dark sides. Weir shows Honduras in all its beauty, as virgin nature that has suffered from the touch of the white man only sporadically. Maybe too beautiful. Where are the minor threats? The dark message about human generation and degeneration of man that Ford delivers at the end of the picture has logic to it. It makes you start to think. Very effective. See you all on Mosquito Coast. Father sat at the end of the towline...his back turned to us. I hated his shoulders, the greasy hair, the slant of his spine. I imagined how it would be to stick a knife in it, just below his ragged collar. (26.07.2013)