An incredibly subtle but powerful romance, the plot of "A Paper Wedding" is deceptively simple: Claire (Genevieve Bujold), a 39-year-old university professor is professionally occupied but not...

An incredibly subtle but powerful romance, the plot of "A Paper Wedding" is deceptively simple: Claire (Genevieve Bujold), a 39-year-old university professor is professionally occupied but not stimulated. Bored with her long-term affair with a married man, she is persuaded by her lawyer sister to enter into a marriage of convenience with a Chilean political refugee (Manuel Aranguiz) who would be granted asylum. Pablo faces imprisonment or worse if he is forced to return to his homeland. After the wedding, the newlyweds shake hands and return to their former lives until an over-eager immigration agent begins to pursue them. Claire and Pablo are forced to live together and explore each other's pasts in order to convince a judge of the validity of their marriage. In the process, their defenses slowly break down, their shared shyness abates, and they come to realize how much they care for each other.