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Map of the Human Heart (1992)

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2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Ward's ambitious epic love story covers two continents and three decades and, its execution apart, could have sprung from one of those fat romantic chronicles written for the typing pool. But Ward has an extravagant visual imagination so that even the more outlandish scenes, like the hero and heroine finally consummating their passion on a half-deflated barrage balloon, linger in the mind. Where lack of money cramps his vision of WWII bombing raids on Germany, the director achieves a pleasing shorthand with lighting. Map-maker Bergin lands his biplane in Canada's Arctic Circle and befriends an Inuit boy with TB, flying him to a Montreal hospital, where he becomes best friends with a half-caste Indian girl on Moreau's ward. Ten years later, the friendship has blossomed into love. Fate intervenes at an indecent rate, serving up plenty of misunderstandings, but the mise-en-scène is stunning. Go with the floe.

Author: BC

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

ed said...

Posted on Mar 28 2011 16:21 An amazing example of a masterpiece chopped to pieces in the editing room. The mind boogles at what the original cut was like. Instead here we a hurried along from briefly entrancing scene to the next, with few chances to engage with these possibly really interesting characters. One fo the strangest international casts ever...and what has happened to the 3 leads? All disappeared off to "DTV" land...sadly.
An half-absent masterpiece? We'll never know, we can only guess... Poor Vincent Ward.

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onebadgewriter said...

Posted on Apr 28 2009 00:34 An improbable (but riveting) love story told against stunning backdrops of the ice of Northern Canada and fire of bombing raids on Germany. I really enjoyed it except for the nagging doubt that given the hero's history of tuberculosis it was hardly likely that he would have passed the strict medical examination undertaken by potential aircrcrew trainees.

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