A Paper Wedding

Before Peter Weir's popular 1991 Green Card, this Canadian film tackled the subject of an illegal alien trying to gain citizenship through a "paper wedding" in a much more realistic way. When Pablo (Manuel Aranguiz), a Chilean refugee working as a dishwasher in a Montreal restaurant, is hounded by the immigration authorities after his residence permit expires, he turns to his lawyer (Dorothee Berryman) for help. The lawyer, in turn, contacts her sister Claire (Genevieve Bujold), a fortyish and single college professor, requesting that she marry Pablo--for just a little while. At first reticent, Claire eventually agrees to the paper wedding with Pablo. Her lover, a married man who has been stringing Claire along for years, is hypocritically up in arms over Claire's pending marriage, but since Pablo won't be staying at Claire's house, the lover is placated--until the immigration police show up, catching Claire and her lover in the boudoir, and no Pablo in sight. Under suspicion of a bogus marriage, the newlyweds have three days before having to appear for a test to prove that they know and love one another. Naturally, over the course of the three days, the couple discover that they have more in common than they thought. While admittedly predictable, A Paper Wedding plays fair and true with its subject matter. Both Bujold and Aranguiz are excellent in their roles, and their dialogue is consistently believable. A good romance with a deeper message. Recommended. (R. Pitman)