What use is a system/ideology when it cannot even catch up to the changing times? It is not only useless, but sometimes it even suppresses the people living under it. <b>The Marriage Certificate</b> is a film from China, deliciously satirizing the Chinese bureaucracy and its negative effect on the daily lives of the Chinese. One day, engineer Xie Yuetin and psychiatrist Lao Gu realize that their marriage certificate is lost. Although they have an 18-year-old daughter, without a marriage certificate, they will not be considered a family unit. After rummaging through the whole house, Xie still cannot find the document and becomes neurotic. Her husband, exhausted, demands that they live separated. Their daughter meanwhile, as a sign of protest, runs away from home. The director questions if all this mishap over the loss of a single piece of paper is worth it and aims the blame at the Chinese bureaucracy. The 18-year-old girl′s narration and the use of animation are effectively put in service to increase response from the audience. (Kang So-Won)