Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

On Edinburgh's coldest day, Jack is born with a heart that does not beat. A quick-thinking midwife named Madeleine saves his life by replacing his pulse with a cuckoo clock. She imposes three rules for his survival: never touch the clock’s hands, never lose his temper, and never fall in love.

Madeleine decides to raise Jack after his birth, keeping the clock-heart a secret. She embraces the role with quiet, unfailing love and protects him from the outside world. Jack grows up under her care, bound by the three rules she gave him.

On his tenth birthday, Madeleine reiterates the rules and takes Jack to town for the first time, where he meets Miss Acacia. He instantly falls for her, while Joe the bully also notices Miss Acacia. The stage is set for years of schoolyard trouble and a first, dangerous crush.

Jack endures years of bullying from Joe and his gang at school. A brutal incident leaves Jack convinced he harmed Joe, pushing him into guilt and isolation. Madeleine helps him escape and hide, shielding him from pursuit.

Madeleine arranges Jack's escape and helps him go into hiding, protecting him from danger and keeping the clock-heart a secret. She acts with patient resolve and maternal love to safeguard his future. This escape marks the turning point toward the adventures to come.

Georges Méliès repairs Jack’s clock-heart and agrees to accompany him on a quest to find Miss Acacia. They depart from Scotland and set off toward Andalusia, seeking the woman Jack loves. The partnership begins with a shared hope and a bond formed under the strain of his ticking heart.

In Andalusia, they reach a traveling circus where Jack tracks down Miss Acacia. Georges cautions him not to reveal his true identity as their bond deepens in secret.

Jack reveals his identity to Miss Acacia and offers her a wind-up key that could keep his heart beating. She hints that her heart belongs to someone from her past, suggesting a shared history with Jack.

Joe reappears and tries to drive them apart by telling Miss Acacia Jack's three rules. Miss Acacia decides she cannot be the cause of Jack’s death and chooses to leave with Joe, breaking Jack’s heart.

In a carriage, Jack explains that Madeleine was imprisoned after his escape and died not long after, with whispers blaming a broken heart. He speaks with quiet sorrow, hoping Miss Acacia will understand the stakes.

Miss Acacia realizes she holds the key to Jack’s survival and turns back to find him. She learns that Jack has returned to Edinburgh and has learned what happened to Madeleine.

Miss Acacia locates Jack in front of Madeleine’s grave and tries to use the key to wind his heart. He refuses, discards the key, and chooses to die; they share a kiss as time seems to slow.

As they kiss, time itself seems to halt and the narrative closes with a song about climbing to heaven on a ladder of frozen snowflakes. The ending leaves Jack's fate suspended between life and death.