Paper Heart

Nicholas Jasenovec’s Paper Heart is a strange confection, but once you crack its quirky shell it proves to be rather sweet and satisfying.

Set up like a run-of-the-mill doc, filmmaker Nick (actually played on screen by actor Jake M Johnson; the first clue that all is not as it seems) introduces us to Chinese-American comedienne Charlyne Yi. Yi is cute and peppy but despite her upbeat outlook she firmly believes that she will never find true love.

Accordingly, she and Nick travel across America interviewing various ordinary people – from childhood sweethearts celebrating 50-plus years of marriage to a young couple on their wedding day – about the secrets behind lasting love. And then, at a party, she meets actor Michael Cera. His attraction to her is instantly apparent whereas she takes some time to come around to his geeky charms. But sure enough, out of this chance encounter a relationship develops – all documented by Nick’s unblinking camera.

Whether you view it as a clever and insightful treatise on the indefinable nature of true love or a lightweight, rom-com mockumentary hybrid, there’s no denying Paper Heart’s good natured charm. Once you get your head around the conceit that most of it is scripted, you can settle back and appreciate that its study of romance is based on universal truths (indeed, Cera and Yi had been dating for some time in real life when they made the film).

The film is clearly a piece of extended performance art from the creative mind of Yi – a cine-essay on the clichés and forced feelings that are so often mistaken for romance. The self that she is portraying on screen is just one facet of her personality distilled down to a childlike innocence, underlined by her use of paper dolls to act out the various tales of love and loss she hears along her journey. Like Yi herself, the film may seem at times rather naïve in its outlook, but it’s also honest and entertaining.

Nikki Baughan

Anticipation:

Is it a documentary? Is it a comedy? And who the hell is Charlyne Yi?

Enjoyment:

It’s part doc, part rom-com. Ain’t love grand!

In Retrospect:

Cera has dumped Yi in real life. But is it a publicity stunt? It’s hard to know what to believe.