Missing Victor Pellerin is the story of a young Canadian artist who first burst upon the Montreal art scene in the late 1980s. As his fame started to spread to the United States, with paintings sold in advance of the actual work being done, Pellerin decided to create his own catalogue of his previous work. Regaining the paintings from dealers and collectors, Pellerin locked himself in is apartment, burned all of his paintings, and disappeared in January 1990. We later learn that Pellerin may have been involved in some criminal activities, charmed and hurt many of his friends, and had the birth name of Eric Gauthier.

Sophie Deraspe’s film documents the life, times and friends of Pellerin. The truth about Missing Victor Pellerin is that as far as films about artists are concerned, it should not be shelved next to The Mystery of Picasso or Sketches of Frank Gehry. The truth is that this film is actually closer to The Blair Witch Project or Peter Jackson’s Forgotten Silver. In other words, Missing Victor Pellerin is a fake documentary done with a very straight face.

Deraspe works with a cast made up in part with non-actors, including members of Canada’s art world who portray versions of themselves. Layers are added to this film as it primarily in French, but occassionally switches to English. There are even two commentary tracks, one in French and one in English, that are completely different.

There is a point to Deraspe’s appearance of playing games with the audience which is to explore the truth contained in fiction, as well as the myths that emerger from reality. The film also explores what it means to be a contemporary artist, where the art and by extension, the artist, become commodities. This is a film that adventurous filmgoers, as well as people interested in art and artists, should check out. And that’s the truth.