Fiction and non-fiction unite in a little story about love.

The filmmakers of Paper Heart refer to their creation as a “hybrid documentary” in that it blends real life stories and documentary-style filmmaking within a fictional storyline.

Staring actors Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera, the 2009 film attempts to take a look at love from many different angles.

 It starts out with Charlyne making a documentary about love – something she hasn’t encountered in romance and wishes to learn more about.

Enter Michael Cera. 

After meeting Cera at a house party, Charlyne is obviously smitten and their fictional romance soon blossoms into the focal point of the documentary. Though their relationship was set up and scripted, I found it charmingly fresh, believable and relatable. I loved the timid beginnings of their courtship, from the first awkward silences, to the hesitant handholding and eventually to the revelation of their true feelings for each other.

Let’s also not forget the great interviews between Charlyne and others on the topic of love. From new couples, old couples, optimistic children, a divorcee, some scientists and even a psychic, Charlyne discovers more about what love means to different people and what it means to herself.

So, whether you’re a love skeptic or a true believer, Paper Heart gives everyone little food for thought on an age-old mystery, l’amore.