"Schrader bravely forsakes the narrative fastidiousness of his recent work and takes on grand themes of memory, mortality, and artistic self-reckoning, to formally ragged but sincerely moving effect." - Justin Chang, New Yorker
"There’s much to like here, particularly in Gere’s vulnerable performance and just how openly Schrader is expressing what feels like his own concerns about aging, regret, and reputation." - Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
Ailing documentarian Leonard Fife (Richard Gere, reuniting with Paul Schrader 44 years after AMERICAN GIGOLO) wants to tell his story—one of draft dodging, complicated relationships, and hidden truths. With his protective wife Emma (Uma Thurman) at his side, and his health failing, Leonard invites a former student to film an extended, probing recounting of his life. As the camera rolls, OH CANADA uses Leonard’s memories to flash back through his youth. Jacob Elordi (SALTBURN) (and, in a surreal turn, Gere) plays the younger version of the dying man, and as Leonard holds his successes up against his failings, he is forced to confront what is left at the end of it all. Though based on Russell Banks’ 2021 novel Foregone, OH, CANADA feels like a deeply personal film for 78-year-old Schrader, who delivers an imperfect and complicated portrait of an imperfect and complicated man.
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Palme d'Or, Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection - Cannes Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival
5 QUESTIONS WITH PAUL SCHRADER
Interview from the November/December 2024 Gazette
What drew you to Russell Banks’ Foregone, and how did you approach adapting his novel for the screen?
Russell Banks has been a good friend since AFFLICTION. After he told me he was sick, I read Foregone, the novel he'd written about dying, and I realized that's what I should be doing. He ended up dying in a similar manner to the death he had researched. He called it his Ivan Illyich and it then became my Ivan Illyich.
OH, CANADA explores the themes of aging, memory, and time in such clever and tricky ways, particularly with your cast, who fluidly and unexpectedly represent Leonard and characters from his life through the decades. Why did you take this approach to tell the story of Leonard telling his story?
Foregone (which Russell originally wanted to call Oh Canada—the French title) was a semi-autobiographical mosaic reflecting Leonard Fife’s memories and displacements. I assorted the mosaic under various screen and color formats, not to make his story more complex but to make it simpler to follow.
Earlier this year, you made the profound statement, “It’s very easy to get a film made. It’s very hard to make a living.” The Film Center welcomes a strong audience of students studying film and endeavoring to thrive within the industry. What is one piece of advice you'd give these students?
If there is any way to find a modicum of happiness outside filmmaking, seize it.
What is a memorable moviegoing experience you've had?
March 1969, watching PICKPOCKET at the Los Feliz theater on Vermont Ave, Los Angeles. In those 75 minutes both Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer and TAXI DRIVER took seed.
What film do you watch again and again?
THE CONFORMIST.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu