PAPER HEART
A rambling search that misses God's definition of love.
Should You Watch It?
PAPER HEART asks a worthwhile question: What is love, and how do you know when you have found it? Charlyne Yi travels around the United States and Paris, France, interviewing people about love while wondering whether she knows how to love herself. Her developing friendship with Michael Cera adds a romantic thread, but the film’s self-conscious project keeps every relationship under observation.
The documentary offers little clarity. Some interviews are better than others, but none address love as God defines it. A Las Vegas wedding chapel and a divorce court judge reveal the weakness of infatuation, while the film’s own search feels lost and aimless. Even at 88 minutes, it seems slow and pointless.
If you want a thoughtful, lasting account of love, skip this one.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCharlyne Yi travels around the United States and Paris, France, interviewing various people about love. She believes she does not really know how to love.
Along the way, she meets Michael Cera and develops a friendship that borders on romance. But because Yi is making a documentary about whether she can fall in love, every relationship must be filmed—including this one.
Is It Any Good?
One star means the film’s central search does not overcome its weak execution. PAPER HEART includes interviews with people connected to a Las Vegas wedding chapel and a divorce court judge, and some interviews are better than others.
Still, the documentary feels rambling, slow, and pointless despite running only 88 minutes. The romantic thread between Yi and Michael Cera does not provide enough momentum to carry the film.
The Worldview
PAPER HEART presents love as a question to investigate through interviews, romantic possibility, and personal experience. It follows a woman’s quest to discover whether she can fall in love, but the review finds that none of the interviews reach the biblical definition of love. The film offers no concept of God’s love at all.
The documentary also includes an interview with two homosexual men, one of whom keeps a former partner’s ashes on his shelf. Yi consults a Tarot card reader about whether her relationship with Michael is love, though she and the crew later mock the reading as a scam. These elements contribute to the film’s romantic and occult worldview.
The review distinguishes infatuation from the commitment that can grow stronger over many years. It argues that lasting love is based on putting God and Jesus Christ first. Scripture gives the standard the film misses: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong Romantic worldview featuring a woman’s quest for love with two homosexuals interviewed about love and light occult content where a Tarot card reading is conducted to see if a relationship will last but the protagonist and her friends afterwards remark about how bogus it was; four obscenities and no profanities; no violence; no actual sex but two homosexuals discuss “love” during an interview; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, infatuation.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film searches for the meaning of love but does not turn to God’s definition. How does 1 Corinthians 13 describe love differently from infatuation?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7The review says lasting love is a commitment that grows stronger over time. What helps a commitment endure?
Matthew 19:4–6 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–12Yi consults a Tarot card reader and later mocks the reading. Why should Christians avoid occult practices, even when they are treated as entertainment?
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 · Acts 19:18–19The film leaves God and Jesus Christ out of its search for love. How does Scripture connect love with knowing God?
1 John 4:7–12The Final Word
PAPER HEART raises a meaningful question but gives an aimless, spiritually empty answer. Its slow pace, content concerns, and failure to show love as God defines it make this an easy SKIP IT. For better options, see.
