Map of the Human Heart (1993)
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Source: JustWatch
Physical Media
He was hired to make the third Alien film. His vision was a planet made of wood: a monastery in space and an order of monks who had renounced technology. Fox rejected the concept and he left the project with only a story credit.
What Vincent Ward made instead was MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART (1993). It was an epic love story seen by few, but those who did see it never forgot.
Avik, an Inuk boy, is carried out of the 1931 Arctic by a British mapmaker and treated in a Montreal hospital where he develops a deep bond with a Métis girl named Albertine. The children are forced apart by prejudice and strict authorities.
Years later, the world is at war. Avik serves as an aerial photographer and Albertine works for the British military. Their rekindled bond grows into passion when they reunite in London, but misunderstanding, jealousy, and the horrors of war tear them apart once again.
The story crosses thirty years and half the planet. Its most talked-about sequence is a love scene staged on top of a barrage balloon.
Ward's father had flown in the actual raid on Dresden. On the day Ward finished shooting the Dresden firebombing sequence, he learned his father had died.
He dedicated the film to him.
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MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART (1993) was an independent international co-production involving the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Australia.
About the Film
Born in the magic of youth. Forged by the passions of war. Their love knew no boundaries.
- Directed By
- Vincent Ward
- Runtime
- 109 minutes
- Released
- April 22, 1993
- US Theatrical
- April 23, 1993
- Certification
- R
- Country
- Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, United States of America
- Starring
- Jason Scott Lee, Robert Joamie, Anne Parillaud, Annie Galipeau, Patrick Bergin
More Credits
- Genres
- Adventure, Drama, Romance, War
- Language
- English
- Origin
- AU
- Studios
- Les Films Ariane, Working Title, Map Films, Vincent Ward Films, Sunrise Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Australian Film Finance Corporation
- Written By
- Vincent Ward, Louis Nowra
- Produced By
- Tim Bevan, Vincent Ward, Graham Bradstreet, Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein
- Cinematography
- Eduardo Serra
- Music
- Gabriel Yared
- Also Starring
- Clotilde Courau, John Cusack, Jeanne Moreau, Ben Mendelsohn, Jerry Snell
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Loved that movie.
Yes , a great film.
In retrospect the director didn’t have to put up with all the studio interference which nearly overwhelmed that sequel. I’m guessing Map Of The Human Heart is well overdue for a new home video release.
Colin Baxter It really is. Actually, I think this could be a good Criterion candidate.
Ward’s films have enormous heart, which seems almost revolutionary compared to current film-making.
Ward is a real visionary. He’s a total romantic too, which isn’t very in nowadays.
Vincent Ward’s two defining films are Vigil and The Navigator, both strange, haunting films with a dense sense of atmosphere. His most recent film Rain of the Children is interesting but a bit of a mess.
Michael Norris I will look for all of them. I saw Map years ago just on a TV I happened to be passing by and it was riveting. Never even saw the director’s name. But this reminder will make me look up ALL his films. I’d rather watch “a bit of a mess” he made than 9 out of 10 movies made today!
Even if it’s a mess, it is a fascinating story — the basic premise is that a chance encounter as a young filmmaker with an indigenous woman (who was the subject of a very early film of his) sets off a fascinating deep dive later in life when he uncovers her ancestry, which turns out to have been one of the most significant historical events in the area — an interesting meditation on history, colonisation, memory, and how society easily forgets and shuns our vulnerable people.
Agreed, I particularly love The Navigator.
His idea for an aliens movie was a planet made of wood? No wonder he didnt make the 3rd aliens movie. Thats a stupid, stupid idea.
Jeff Parsons A brilliant book by Ursula K.Leguin!
LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS MOVIE!!! Just a fantastic, unforgettable film!
Map of the Human Heart is a wonderfully ambitious film. I’ve enjoyed watching it over the years. One of the best romantic films I’ve seen as well.
“I’ve been across the whole of here!” is one of my favorite lines from the film.
Good movie.
I read this book back in the 80’s, a memoir of a Canadian lad who served in Bomber Command during the war. He actually does mention an incident where he made love to his W.A.A.F. girlfriend on top of a partially inflated barrage balloon. Not sure how high it was, at the time.
Great flick. A wooden planet? No. Clincher couldn’t even save it. William Gibson wrote an excellent treatment of Alien 3 they should have used. Map of the Human Heart is why they make movies.
Allen Gamboa Still, I’ve always been curious how he might have pulled it off. It would certainly have spun the series into a different orbit!
Anywhere But Hollywood I mean, yeah. Definitely would have been interesting.
One of my favorite films of all time
Absolutely astonishing film, also love The Navigator
I was so excited to see this when it came out and I left the theater feeling so incredibly disappointed. To this day, it’s one of the worst movie going experiences I’ve ever had. I kept waiting to be invited into the story, I kept waiting for the performances to move me, and they never did. And I give any work of art much more leeway than almost anyone I know, I can find things to like in movies or other art that other people dismiss. But wow, this one really let me down.
Josef Stremick I wonder how you’d react if you saw it again. There are numerous movies I disliked on first viewing that have since become favorites (The Double Life of Veronique comes to mind). I like Map of the Human Heart a lot, but my wife is absolutely in love with it.
It’s certainly possible, but I don’t think I’m going to risk putting myself through that experience.
All the different “What might have been” for Alien Cubed are facinating… they did retain some aspects of his original treatment, such as the inmates being a celibate religious group, the presence of Ripley a disruption to the settled routine.
It is clear the studio was determined to hamstring whoever was in charge, although I personally think that Cubed recieves far more hate than it deserves, and I thought that way back when it was the last Alien film.