Paper Heart
Paper Heart movie poster
This is why Paper Heart, the half-real half-fake movie created by Yi and director Nick Jasenovec, intrigued me. The movie’s premise starts out with Yi traveling across the country, asking people what love is. The interviews are real. Then it segues into Yi meeting Cera at a party, where they show signs of liking each other. This part is presumably fake. Which, in the end, doesn’t really matter. Their love, pretend or not, is just as interesting and charming as the real stories we hear about in the rest of the movie.
This is why: Their relationship doesn’t have the kind of lightning bolts and passionate heavy breathing that we expect from romantic comedies. They’re low-key and quite humdrum. They go out on dates, walk on the beach, share quirky moments, and write silly songs. There’s no real drama (except for the very end, but that’s a bit of a spoiler). Their relationship, whether it’s real or not, is actually very close to reality. Relationships aren’t always exciting and romantic. Relationships can be kind of uneventful and quiet most of the time. But that doesn’t mean love isn’t there. Love doesn’t need lightning bolts and car chases and the running across a meadow. Love can just be.
As Yi and Jasenovec take us through multiple tales of love, including Yi’s own journey from not believing in love to her relationship with Cera, we learn that everyone has a different definition of love. And that they’re all valid, real or not.