Map of the Human Heart (1993)
In an Arctic village in 1931, British mapmaker Walter Russell selects 12-year-old Eskimo Avik as his guide. When the boy contracts tuberculosis, Walter flies him to a Montreal hospital, where Avik meets Albertine and is infatuated. A decade later, a grown Avik encounters Albertine again in London, where he's serving as a British combat pilot. Despite her relationship with Walter, she and Avik begin an affair.
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A brilliant film that helped define a genre
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
At an Arctic oil site, elderly Inuit Avik (Jason Scott Lee) befriends the newly arrived Mapmaker (John Cusack). As a boy, Avik's tribe is visited by cartographer Walter Russell (Patrick Bergin). He falls ill from tuberculosis and Walter takes him to a Montreal hospital. He meets and punches Métis girl Albertine. She punches back and they're in love. Years later, Walter returns to find a stranded U-Boat. Avik has been shunned for being bad luck. Abandoned by his people, he goes south to join the war and becomes a bombardier. In England, he runs into Albertine (Anne Parillaud) who is now having an affair with Walter.This is an epic of tragic romance. It has a fable quality. The plot does jump sometimes. The little kids are really charming. They have real chemistry. The adult versions have a little less chemistry. They don't have anything as cool as punching each other although having sex on a barrage balloon is very different. The most emotional moments have to be the grandmother when Avik leaves her twice. Her's is a devastating heart-break. There is a lot of story here and director Vincent Ward does a pretty good job. While there are big war action, it could be done with more thrills. There are also lots of surreal scenes which could be improved with a more imaginative camera. Nevertheless, this is a memorable unique film.
This is a beautiful, thoughtful, heart-wrenching story. The cinematography of the film is artful and intimate, it feels like you are in the room, almost shamefully eavesdropping... the ending doesn't completely gel for me, the story line works, but I think it needs to be fleshed out a bit more. The ensemble performances are letter perfect, the subtleties and inner thoughts of these characters are crystal clear to the viewer, it's almost unnerving. The frantic energy of wartime life is captured beautifully, without being a trite war movie. It's just another layer of these characters reality, it doesn't overwhelm the story. Brandon Lee is beautiful in this role, very impressive performance. Great great story, I loved this movie!!!!
I decided to watch this based on a strong recommendation from a friend, and am now debating whether or not she is my friend at all. This movie, as another reviewer alluded to, is actually painful to watch. I would have never finished it except I wanted to be knowledgeable about what a putrid film it is so I could write an accurate review. The only aspect of the film that is even passable is the cinematography, which, though dark, does a consistently good job of telling the story. Every single other aspect of the film (the acting, the story, the dialogue, the sound mixing, the sound dubbing) is just a disgrace to the art of film-making. The sound dubbing is so ridiculously bad that I was starting to wonder if this was a foreign language flick (honestly). The words NEVER match up to the lips; not even on accident. The story is implausible (a poor man's "Legends of the Fall"), filled with every concievable cliché. The characters are underwritten cardboard cut-outs, which at least partially explains the poor acting. I can't say enough bad things about this film, but do yourself a favor and avoid it like the plague! Life is too short.
This is one of the best movies I've ever seen....I never want to see it again.Why don't I want to see it? Its simply depressing. I can't watch it with out becoming suicidal. This is the story of two ill fated lovers over the early and mid part of the 20th century. Its told in flashback in a fishing village in Canada.What can I say? This is a film of great performances and moments, the firestorm in Dresden gives me nightmares.I would love to recommend the film, but its ultimately so bleak I don't know many people who would want to see it.Still I give it 10 out of 10 simply because it provokes such a deep reaction in me.