Fail to Appear

International cinephiles are finally taking notice of Antoine Bourges. His sensitively rendered hybrid drama Concrete Valley wowed the 2023 Berlinale with its portrait of Toronto’s immigrant community. The film cast non-professional actors in the drama of their daily lives to explore how new Canadians navigate their fresh starts in this country. The success of Bourges’ third feature therefore offers an occasion for interested cinephiles to catch up on the work of a singular voice in Canadian film.
 
Bourges’ second feature, Fail to Appear, is especially worth (re)considering for his deft ability to blur the lines between fiction and non-fiction. The film stars Deragh Campbell, who runs in the same circle of artists revitalising Toronto independent film, as a therapist in a rehabilitation centre. (Cinephiles should also enjoy a cameo appearance by Cinema Scope film critic Adam Nayman, whose writing on Bourges’ work is essential reading.) Bourges again favours the mundane drama of everyday life here as Campbell’s Isolde juggles the bureaucratic nature of her work with the empathetic ear required to get the job done properly. The fly-on-the-wall observational style respects the experiences of the non-professional actors with whom Campbell interacts. The camera is unobtrusive and, like Isolde, attentive. Bourges is adept at creating art that doesn’t imitate life, but rather art that is authentic as life itself.

Pat Mullen
Publisher, POV Magazine