MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating: 6.9 (C+, **)
Date Released: 4/23/93 (limited distribution) Running Length: 1:52 Rated: R (Mature themes, sexual situations, nudity, language, violence)
Starring: Jason Scott Lee, Anne Parillaud, Patrick Bergin,
John Cusack
Director: Vincent Ward
Producer: Tim Bevin
Screenplay: Louis Nowra based on a story by Vincent Ward
Music: Gabriel Yared
Released by Miramax Films
Avik (Jason Scott Lee) is a young Eskimo boy living with his tribe in the Canadian Arctic. One day in 1931, Walter (Patrick Bergin) arrives there as the head of a British mapping expedition. He befriends Avik and, when the boy becomes gravely ill, flies him back to Montreal for treatment. There, Avik meets Albertine (Anne Parillaud). After their initial encounters as adversaries, the two become fast friends. Eventually, they are separated, but Avik vows never to forget her. Over a decade later, during his stint as a bomber pilot during the second world war, the two meet again.
MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART is a sentimental love story with a generally downbeat tone. The story is framed around a series of coincidences, not all of which are believable, but many of which can be overlooked. There is a certain epic sweep to this film which many "dramatic romances" lack. The emotional impact of MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART, while existing, is minor. The characters remain too distanced from the audience.
The most obvious problem with MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART is its editing. Of all the films I've seen in recent years, only the Salkinds' Christopher Columbus movie rivals this for cutting room butchering. In this case, the final product is so disjointed that at times the transitions (or lack thereof) are laughably absurd. The original European version of this movie is significantly longer. While the overall quality of that picture may not be better than the one distributed by Miramax, it certainly must flow better.
Character interaction is marginal. I think the editing impacted on this, as it did on just about everything else. We see skeletons of relationships, but none--not even the central one between Avik and Albertine--is developed satisfactorily. Especially weak is the interaction between Avik and Walter. For MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART to really work, we have to be able to accept that there is a deep and abiding love between these two, a sort of father/son relationship. Unfortunately, we see little evidence of this.
Early in the movie, there is an aspect of the production that I found irritating--all the more so because it is unnecessary. During the scenes when Albertine is a young girl, her lines have been dubbed by Anne Parillaud. There's no rhyme or reason for this, and the dubbing is not so well done that it isn't noticeable. As minor a point as this is, I found it distracting.
In general, the movie seems to be full of half-realized themes and ideas. Questions of identity are touched on, but the subject is never pursued to its conclusion. Cut short is a potentially-powerful scene where a member of a bomber crew is forced to experience firsthand the devastation he has wrought. Even truncated as it is, this scene still packs a punch.
One thing that can't be denied, and that not even the editing can take away, is how beautifully this movie has been filmed. The shots of dozens of gigantic bombers drifting over a flaming Dresden is as effective as any similar scene in another war picture, and the brief aerial battles are the equal of those from MEMPHIS BELLE.
Unfortunately, while the shots from the outside of the planes during the bombing raids are excellent, the interior ones are not. Hardly any of the dialogue is intelligible and it's difficult to figure out what's happening. While I can appreciate the director's desire to capture the "feeling" of such a chaotic environment, it isn't a good idea to do so at the price of utterly confounding the audience.
The acting is as uneven as everything else in the movie. The child actors who take up much of the early screen time are merely passable, and their adult counterparts aren't much better. Anne Parillaud is especially disappointing, as she overacts her way through the part (much in the same way that she did in INNOCENT BLOOD, a movie where over-the-top was demanded). Patrick Bergin goes in the other direction, appearing distressingly unemotional. Jason Scott Lee, perhaps the most consistent of the major participants, exudes very little charisma in this role. John Cusack, who gets billing for a cameo appearance, is on screen for a total of about four minutes.
Overall, MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART is a mixed bag. None of its elements works all the time, but neither is it a complete failure. The romance alone doesn't have the emotional power to recommend the film, but WW2 buffs may find in this production a mildly entertaining diversion. MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART is sometimes sappy and silly, and often poorly-transitioned, but at least it generally isn't boring.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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