One of the best, most well-defining quotes about a person and about aging, life, and humanity comes from filmmaker Paul Schrader. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, presenting his then-new film, “Master Gardener,” Schrader began reflecting on his life, his mortality, and his evolved creative raison d’etre.
“I used to be an artist who never wanted to leave this world without saying f*ck you,” he said. “And now I’m an artist who never wants to leave this world without saying I love you.”
That’s the perfect quote to introduce Schrader’s new film, “Oh Canada,” a drama about aging, reflection, looking back on life and the past, our mistakes, and confessing our sins.
It reunites Schrader with his old “American Gigolo” star, Richard Gere, and also stars Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, Jacob Elordi, Victoria Hill, and Kristine Froseth.
The drama, based on Russell Banks’ book “Foregone,” centers on Leonard Fife, one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam, who shares all his secrets to de-mythologize his mythologized life.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Aging filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), still fiery despite his battle with illness, wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it’s too late. As the director of acclaimed documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his Vietnam War draft-dodging and his past relationships harbor thorny truths. Leonard sits for an extended interview with his former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli), relating candid stories about his younger self (Jacob Elordi) in the tumultuous 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable artistic partner, Emma (Uma Thurman), bears witness to it all. His successes are held up against his failings and, as the man is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left. Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel sees him reunited with Gere more than 40 years after American Gigolo, and together, they deliver a moving and deeply personal take on this story of an artist reflecting on a lifetime of storytelling.
“Oh Canada” opens in theaters December 5 via Kino Lorber. Watch the new trailer below.
