Swedish director Lasse Hallström must have watched some Hindi movies; take out the sex and drugs, and there are elements of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and maybe even Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. The title of his new film (on Amazon Prime Video), The Map That Leads To You, also has a touch of Bollywood.
After graduating, Heather (Madelyn Cline) and her two besties, Connie (Sofia Wylie) and Amy (Madison Thompson) decide to head for a vacation to Spain. On the train, Heather meets Jack (KJ Apa, New Zealander in real life, like the character), and the literary meet-cute is that they are both reading the same Hemingway book– she on her iPad, he in the paper version, sprawled cutely on the luggage rack. Heather intends to join a bank after the break, and Jack is just backpacking through Europe. Later, he reveals that he is following the journal of his great grandfather, and going to the places he had mentioned.
Heather, who always has a plan—where to eat, which museum to go to and which train to catch—is deflected by Jack’s adventurous spirit. The three women (a lot of annoying squealing unleashed on ear drums), Jack and his buddy Raef (Orlando Norman) come into some money (stolen from a thief who stole from Amy), and getting into a cherry red convertible, the group drives through the most breathtaking landscapes and hangs out at stunning spots.
When it’s time for her to return, Jack persuades Heather to accompany him to some more exciting places, and, half in love, she agrees. The others go off on their own journeys. Of course, there is romance brewing, Jack is the kind of free spirit who women fall for, and get their hearts broken. Without adding spoilers, it’s needless to say that if there is such perfect love, against such perfect backdrops, there has to be an obstacle too.
It’s a formulaic plot, still, at age 79, Hallström (once director of ABBA’s music videos) has made a youthful love story, and made the predictable look fresh and sparkling. The locations have a lot to with that, but also the fresh-faced and stylishly (sexily) outfitted cast. There is something appealing about films like The Map that Leads to You (adapted from the book of the same name by JP Monninger), because romantic novels and movie romcoms have injected in every young person the desire to have this kind of dreamy romantic escapade before boring reality takes over—deadend jobs, marriage, kids, housing loans, horror commutes, and so on. A Spanish sojourn, even if it’s on screen, can’t hurt.
The Map that Leads to You
Director – Lasse Hallström
Cast – Madelyn Cline, KJ Apa, Sofia Wylie and others
On Amazon Prime Video
