In 1931, in the Arctic-Canadian settlement of Nunataaq, Avik (Robert Joamie) lives under the watchful eye of his grandmother (Jayko Pitseolak) who undertakes senicide by jumping in the cold sea.

While tagging along after British cartographer Walter Russell (Patrick Bergin), Avik falls prey to tuberculosis, the "white man's disease".

More time elapses, and a mature Avik (Jason Scott Lee) joins the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War and eventually becomes a bomb aimer in an Avro Lancaster bomber.

On the day Ward finished shooting those scenes, he received word that his father, who had actually participated in the historical firebombing of Dresden, had died.

The scenes in "Nunataaq", the region of Northern Canada where Avik's people are from, were filmed on location in what is now Nunavut, using local Inuit as extras.

[7] Map of the Human Heart has an almost even rank between critics and audience at review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that the film is liked by both parties.

"[10] Brian Case in the 2004 Time Out Film Guide, said: "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.