Map of the Human Heart (1993)
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80% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
74% of users liked it
(2,192 ratings)
A white, Inuit boy named Avik is the focus of New Zealand director Vincent Ward's meditation on race and romance. In the opening moments of the movie, set in 1931 in the Arctic-Canadian settlement Nunataaq, Avik (portrayed initially by Robert Joamie) lives under the watchful eye of his… More A white, Inuit boy named Avik is the focus of New Zealand director Vincent Ward's meditation on race and romance. In the opening moments of the movie, set in 1931 in the Arctic-Canadian settlement Nunataaq, Avik (portrayed initially by Robert Joamie) lives under the watchful eye of his grandmother (Jayko Pitseolak). While tagging along after British cartographer Walter Russell (Patrick Bergin), Avik falls prey to the "white man's disease,"--tuberculosis; to assuage his own guilt, Russell takes the boy to a Montreal clinic to recover. There, Avik meets Albertine, a mixed-blood Indian girl, and the two fall in love, but their relationship is quickly broken up by the Mother Superior who is in charge of the clinic. Years later, Avik again meets Russell, who this time is on a mission to recover the German U-boat lying wrecked off the coast of Nunataaq. Avik asks for Russell's help in learning the whereabouts of Albertine, and he gives the cartographer a chest X-ray of the girl which he has carried with him since their separation. More time elapses, and Avik (now played by Jason Scott Lee) has become a British bombardier fighting in World War II. He is sought out by Albertine (Anne Parillaud), who has become Russell's mistress. Still, she begins an affair with Avik; Russell soon finds out, and as revenge sends Avik and his crew on a suicide mission of which Avik is the lone survivor. Despondent over his war experiences, Avik flees to Canada, where he becomes an alcoholic; decades later, he is sought out by Rainee (Clotilde Courau), the daughter born from his affair with Albertine. On his way to the girl's wedding, Avik is killed in an accident; his body washes up on the beach at Nunataaq, a wedding gift still clutched in his arms. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vincent Ward
- Written By
- Louis Nowra
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Art House & International
R,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1992 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 1, 2004
- Studio
- HBO Video
Critic Reviews
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Even by Mr. Ward's own high standards in the area of idiosyncrasy, this is a daringly peculiar tale.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
A film of incantatory intensity and moment by a prodigiously gifted young filmmaker.
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Despite its historical surrounding and a few stabs at thematic depth, Map of the Human Heart has all the flavor and plot complexity of a Harlequin romance.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The best movies seem to reinvent themselves as they move along, not drawing from worn-out sources, and Map of the Human Heart is one of the year's best films.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
As directed and co-written by Vincent Ward, this romantic drama tries to say something poignant about a doomed interracial love and the fateful nature of human encounters, but everything about it is excessive.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jason Scott Lee
as Avik
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Anne Parillaud
as Albertine
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Patrick Bergin
as Walter Russell
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Robert Joamie
as Young Avik
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Annie Galipeau
as Young Albertine
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John Cusack
as The Mapmaker
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Jeanne Moreau
as Sister Banville
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Ben Mendelsohn
as Farmboy
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Clotilde Courau
as Rainee
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Jerry Snell
as Boleslaw
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Harry Hill
as X-Ray Doctor
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Gordon Masten
as Capt. Johns
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Minor Mustain
as Army Sergeant
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Mark Ruel
as Photo Analyst
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Richard Zeman
as Military Policeman
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Bronwen Mantel
as Woman Guest
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Charlotte Coleman
as Julie
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Monique Spaziani
as Nurse Beatrice
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Griffith Brewer
as Homeguard
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Kliment Denchev
as Doctor on Boat
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Kliment Dentchev
as Doctor on Boat
