Green Card (film)

Green Card is a 1990 romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Peter Weir and starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. The screenplay focuses on an American woman who enters into a marriage of convenience with a Frenchman so he can obtain a green card and remain in the United States. Depardieu won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Green Card
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Weir
Produced byPeter Weir
Written byPeter Weir
Starring
Music byHans Zimmer
CinematographyGeoffrey Simpson
Edited byWilliam M. Anderson
Production
company
Touchstone Pictures
Umbrella Entertainment
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • 25 December 1990 (1990-12-25) (United States)
  • 31 January 1991 (1991-01-31) (Australia)
  • 20 February 1991 (1991-02-20) (France)
[1]
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
Australia
France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12.5 million[2]
Box office$29.9 million[3]

Plot summary

Brontë Parrish (Andie MacDowell), a horticulturalist and an environmentalist, enters into a sham marriage with Georges Fauré (Depardieu), an undocumented immigrant from France, so he may obtain a green card. In turn, Brontë uses her fake marriage credentials to rent the apartment of her dreams. After moving in, to explain her spouse's absence, she tells the doorman and neighbors he is conducting musical research in Africa.

Contacted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for an interview to determine if her marriage is legitimate, Brontë tracks down Georges, who is working as a waiter. Although the two have little time to get their facts straight, the agents who question them appear to be satisfied with their answers. But when one of the agents asks to use the bathroom and Georges directs him to a closet, their suspicions are aroused, and they schedule a full, formal interview to be conducted two days later at their office.

Advised by her attorney she could face criminal charges if their deception is uncovered, Brontë reluctantly invites Georges to move in with her. They try to learn about each other's past and their quirks and habits but quickly find they can barely tolerate each other. Georges is a fiery-tempered selfish slob and smoker who prefers red meat to vegetarian food, while Brontë is shown as uptight and cold, obsessed with her plants and wrapped up in environmental issues.

Brontë's best friend Lauren Adler's parents plan to leave New York City and may donate their trees and plants to the Green Guerrillas, a group overseeing the development of inner city gardens. Brontë is invited to a dinner party to discuss the issue and discovers Georges is there, having been asked by Lauren. He so impresses the Adlers with an impressionistic piano piece set to a poem about children and trees that they agree to donate their plants to the Green Guerrillas. When Brontë's parents later arrive at the apartment for an unannounced visit, Georges pretends to be the handyman.

When Brontë's boyfriend Phil returns from a trip, Georges reveals he is her husband. Brontë angrily kicks Georges out, but the pair nonetheless appear at the immigration interview the next day. The two are questioned separately, and when Georges is caught out by the interviewer, he confesses the marriage is a sham. He agrees to deportation but insists Brontë not be charged for her role in the charade. He lets Brontë believe the interview was a success and the two go their separate ways.

A few days later, Georges invites Brontë to join him at the cafe where they first met. When she notices one of the immigration agents is waiting outside, she realizes Georges is being deported, and finally aware she loves him, tries to stop him from leaving as they finally realize they are in love with each other. Georges promises to write every day asking the same question "When are you coming, Cherie?", a line he had also used when describing their fabricated courtship to the INS. Just before he leaves with the immigration agents, Brontë asks if he still has their wedding rings; he pulls them out of his pocket and they quickly exchange rings again, laughing and kissing, then Georges departs with the immigration agent as Brontë watches from the sidewalk with a smile, knowing they'll meet again.

Cast

Production

Peter Weir wrote the script, an original, specifically as a vehicle for Gérard Depardieu to introduce him to a wide English-speaking audience.[4] The film was based on The Paper Wedding (French: Les noces de papier), a 1989 made for television Canadian film directed by Michel Brault, screenplay by Jefferson Lewis, which was subsequently entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. This film starred Genvieve Bujold.

Partial funding for the film was provided by the Film Finance Corporation Australia and Union Générale Cinématographique. Although the film was set in America and did not feature Australian actors, the fact it was written, directed, filmed, designed and edited by an Australian enabled it to receive funding from the Australian government. This was $3.8 million from the FFC.[5]

Music

Original soundtrack
Green Card:
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Hans Zimmer
ReleasedJanuary 22, 1991 (1991-01-22)
Recorded1990 at Rhino Studios, Sydney, Australia
GenreFilm score, instrumental pop, new-age, soft rock, world, classical
Length44:56
LabelVarèse Sarabande
ProducerHans Zimmer, Peter Weir

Green Card: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on January 22, 1991 on Varèse Sarabande.[6]

Some of the music like "River", "Watermark", and "Storms in Africa" by Enya, "Holdin' On" by Soul II Soul, "Oyin Momo Ado" by Babatunde Olatunji and "Surfin' Safari" by The Beach Boys are heard in the movie, but not included in the soundtrack.

Track listing
  1. "Street Drums" (Larry Wright) (1:29)
  2. "Instinct" (3:33)
  3. "Restless Elephant" (2:55)
  4. "Cafe Afrika" (2:59)
  5. "Greenhouse" (3:15)
  6. "Moonlight" (1:24)
  7. "9AM Central Park" (1:48)
  8. "Clarinet Concerto In A Major: Adagio" (W.A. Mozart) (8:38)
  9. "Silence" (4:38)
  10. "Instinct II" (3:09)
  11. "Asking You" (1:45)
  12. "Pour Bronté" (6:19)
  13. "Eyes On The Prize" (The Emmaus Group Singers) (3:04)

Reception

Critical response

The film earned mixed reviews from critics, as it currently holds a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "as breezily escapist as a film this facile can be" and added, "Ms. MacDowell ... has a lovely, demure ease that makes George's appreciative gaze quite understandable. Mr. Depardieu, in the role that gets him into a New York Yankees cap, proves that he is nothing if not a sport ... He comes to life most fully when he lapses into French or is otherwise momentarily freed from the story's constraints."[7] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed the film "is not blindingly brilliant, and is not an example of the very best work of the director who made The Year of Living Dangerously or the actor who starred in Cyrano de Bergerac. But it is a sound, entertaining work of craftsmanship, a love story between two people whose meet is not as cute as it might have been."[8]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film a "captivating romantic bonbon" and added, "Don't look for the originality and grit that distinguished Weir's Australian films Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, Green Card has all the heft of a potato chip. But Depardieu's charm recognizes no language barriers, and MacDowell, the revelation of Sex, Lies, and Videotape, proves a fine, sexy foil."[9] Rita Kempley of the Washington Post said, "Like Ghost and Pretty Woman, this romance is blissfully dependent on our staying good and starry-eyed, seduced by the charisma of the leads. And we do, despite its lackadaisical pace and disappointing ending."[10]

Variety said, "Although a thin premise endangers its credibility at times, Green Card is a genial, nicely played romance."[11] Time Out London stated "Weir's first romantic comedy boasts a central relationship which is tentative and hopeful, a mood beautifully realised by Depardieu (venturing into new territory with a major English-speaking role). Complemented by the refined MacDowell, his gracious, generous performance is never dominating, and their exchanges offer unexpected pleasures. In terms of the genre's conventions, Weir likens this film to 'a light meal.' It's one to savour."[12] Channel 4 said, "Weir's film has its fair share of cute moments as the opposites slowly begin to attract, but this is largely over rated stuff, which proved curiously popular with critics on its release. Depardieu does his obnoxious-yet-strangely-lovable act with ease; however, the romantic comedy fixture MacDowell is less convincing."[13]

Box office

Green Card grossed $10,585,060 at the box office in Australia,[14][15] which is equivalent to $16,725,817 in 2009 dollars.

Accolades
Group Award Nominee Result
Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay Peter Weir Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Won
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Gérard Depardieu Won
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Andie MacDowell Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Peter Weir Nominated

Home media release

Touchstone released the film on VHS around 1991 and Touchstone Home Entertainment released the film on Region 1 DVD on 4 March 2003. It is in anamorphic widescreen format with audio tracks in English and French.

Green Card was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in February 2004. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the original theatrical trailer, Umbrella Entertainment trailers, and interviews with Peter Weir, Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell.[16]

See also

References
  1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099699/releaseinfo
  2. http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58528
  3. BoxOfficeMojo.com
  4. Katherine Tucker, "Peter Weir", Cinema Papers, August 1990 p 6-10
  5. Bob Evans, "OUR PIECE OF THE ACTION", The Australian Financial Review, 18 October 1991 p 33
  6. http://www.hans-zimmer.com/index.php?rub=disco&id=24
  7. New York Times review
  8. Chicago Sun-Times review
  9. Rolling Stone review
  10. Washington Post review
  11. Variety review
  12. Time Out London review
  13. Channel 4 review
  14. Broeske, Pat H. (14 January 1991). "Home Alone in 9th Week as No. 1 Film : Movies: 'Godfather Part III' takes dramatic slide from second to sixth place in its third week out. 'Awakenings' is in second". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  15. "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  16. "Umbrella Entertainment". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
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