The River Phoenix Pages

Cast

Story

Allie Fox is driven by a desire to escape the modern world and the american way of life. Leaving his house, he leads his wife, two sons and twin daughters to the mosquito coast - which extends from Puerto Barrios in Guatemala to Colon in Panama. On the ship, he vehemently exchanges some views with Reverend Spellgood. Once arrived in Mosquitia, Allie buys a "town" called Geronimo, and the whole family sail up the river on Mr. Haddy's boat, to discover that it's only a couple of huts. But Allie hangs on to his dream of what it might be, and with the help of Geronimo's inhabitants, the family builds a little paradise. Allie's attempts to bring civilisation in his utopia finally lead him deep into the forest, where he finds three white men. It's only when they invade Geronimo that Allie realizes that they're mercenaries. To protect his dream, he traps the guys in 'Fat Boy', a giant cooler, to kill them during the night, despite Charlie's reluctance. But before the cold could freeze them, they wake up and shoot in the machine from inside. 'Fat Boy' explodes, and Geronimo burns down. When day comes, the Fox sail down the river to the ocean. The children and their mother hope to return to Mosquitia or USA, but Allie refuses, pretending that America has been ruined by war while they lived in Geronimo. They hardly believe it, but they settle on the shore, only helped by Mr. Haddy, until Allie argues with him about the safety of the place. A storm soon forces them to sail up the river again, Allie being obviously losing more of his sanity at each failure of his dream. They find Reverend Spellgood's church, where people are watching his preaching on TV. During the night, while Charlie and Jerry had asked help to Emily, the Reverend's daughter, Allie sets fire to the church. That is too much for his wife, who decides to leave with her children. But Spellgood shoots on Allie and he's severely injured. Allie eventually dies on the boat while the family sail down the river to the ocean.

Quote

Charlie : Once I believed in my father, and the world seemed small and old. Now that he was dead, and I wasn't afraid to love him anymore, the world seemed limitless.

Trivia

Pictures

Other resources

• French reviews (not translated yet)