Being Human (1994) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film is set across five distinct historical periods: a harsh prehistoric world, ancient Rome during its era of slavery, medieval Scotland, a Renaissance shipwreck off Africa's coast, and modern New York City. Each setting serves as a backdrop for Hector's recurring struggle with cowardice and indecision.

• settings
• locations
• prehistoric
• Rome
• Scotland
• New York

Being Human spans from prehistoric times to the present day, following the same soul through five separate lifetimes. The film uses reincarnation to link acts of love, duty, and fear across these eras, showing how questions of family, honor, and courage recur regardless of the century.

• time period
• era
• prehistoric
• reincarnation
• lifetimes

The film follows one soul through five lifetimes, each in a different historical era. Memory fades between lives, yet the longing for family and responsibility persists. This narrative device links past promises to present consequences, with time acting as both constraint and teacher.

• reincarnation
• soul
• lifetimes
• memory

Courage is a central theme as Hector's cowardice in his first life haunts all subsequent incarnations. Each life forces him to confront hesitation in critical moments, with action or inaction directly determining outcomes for his family and lovers. Redemption comes only by choosing despite fear.

• courage
• cowardice
• redemption
• fear

Romantic bonds recur across all five lifetimes, from a forbidden love in ancient Rome to a widow in medieval Scotland seeking connection. The film presents love as a force that endures beyond death and time, testing loyalty, demanding sacrifice, and ultimately anchoring the protagonist to his children.

• love
• romance
• relationships
• sacrifice

Hector is the protagonist portrayed by Robin Williams, a man tormented by cowardice and indecision who reincarnates five times across history. In each lifetime, he faces choices that affect his children and lovers, slowly growing toward agency and responsibility.

• Hector
• Robin Williams
• protagonist
• main character

Janet appears in the modern New York life as Hector's ex-wife, remaining connected to him across lifetimes. She embodies loyalty and the complex nature of love that survives the passage of time, providing the social network that grounds his present struggles.

• Janet
• ex-wife
• modern New York

In ancient Rome, Hector is a slave who longs for freedom while battling the pull of past commitments and the risk of losing his family again. This setting features slavery and power struggles that shape his choices and reinforce the recurring consequences of his indecision.

• Rome
• slave
• freedom
• ancient

The Soul Mate character appears in multiple incarnations - as a slave who captures Hector's heart in Rome and as a widow in Scotland who longs for him to join her family. She represents the thread that ties past and present together, recurring as a constant across different eras.

• soul mate
• Rome
• Scotland
• recurring character

The film explores three interconnected themes: Time (how reincarnation tests courage and accountability across lifetimes), Courage (the protagonist's struggle with cowardice and his path toward redemption), and Love (bonds that endure beyond death and guide choices across centuries).

• themes
• time
• courage
• love
• meaning

The five distinct eras - prehistoric, Roman, medieval Scottish, Renaissance, and modern - create a canvas that emphasizes how questions of family, honor, and courage recur regardless of the century. The shifting settings allow the film to explore universal human struggles across different historical contexts.

• historical settings
• eras
• universal themes