A Paper Wedding (1989)
A woman agrees to a marriage of convenience with a refugee.
Watch Trailer
Free Trial Channels
Cast
Reviews
the leading man is my tpye
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
Paper Wedding presents us with an interesting premise. What if you fell for the chap that you were supposed to be married to just for pure convenience's sake? And then bogs it down with a pure chat-a-thon between the two leads, even though you probably know what will happen at the end, that by the end you're about ready to fall asleep. Geneviève Bujold and Manuel Aranguiz play the two central characters thrust into each other's lives when a visa marriage is under scrutiny. Because of this the immigrant has to live with the Canadian woman she marries so they can study each other before a magistrate rules on their fate. I suppose all the acting is fine, but there's hardly any action going on, which deadens the pace quite a lot. Even though this was a thankful 90 minutes, it does tend to bog down quite a lot. Finally, what's with the transfer of the film to DVD? The whole thing looks impossibly grainy.
Bujold plays Claire, a loveless, near 40 woman who agrees to marry Pablo, a poet who will be deported and imprisoned(or worse) unless he becomes a Canadian citizen. They marry but the immigration officials are after the truth and take them to court. The outcome is predictable but the French script is clever and the acting, especially by Bujold, is charming. A worthwhile film from Quebec television.
Not quite thought-provoking, but enough material to make you question the finer points of satisfying one's life. Enjoyed looking at the very pretty and talented Genevieve Bujold. Claire and Pablo are not part of your typical couple, but in a way, you root for them. Could've done without the blueness. It may have been symbolic, but it was just so overwhelmingly depressing at times.
"A Paper Wedding" appears to have been the inspiration for the American movie "Green Card", but it's a subtler, more serious and more satisfying film. A lonely Canadian college professor enters into a marriage of convenience with a Latin American refugee so that he can remain in the country. Pursued by a suspicious immigration official, they're forced to live together and learn about each other. Romantic in a delightfully low-key way.