Filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest drama, “Oh, Canada,” a meditation on death, confession, sins, and the pasts we cannot escape, comes out early next month via Kino Lorber. Based on “Foregone” by Russell Banks—an author whose work he adapted for 1997’s “Affliction,” the film stars Richard Gere Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Victoria Hill, Michael Imperioli, Penelope Mitchell, and Kristine Froseth.
The drama centers on a terminally ill writer and filmmaker who has agreed to have his final testament of his life filmed by a documentary filmmaker but proves to be an unreliable narrator due to his failing and distorted memory.
The film features an autumnally melancholy score by Phosphorescent, aka Matthew Houck, complete with a funeral rendition of “O Canada,” Canada’s national anthem.
But it almost featured the musical work of Bruce Springsteen, a legendary musician with whom he has a relationship and friendship that goes back several years.
“I wanted something anti-anthemic. And I know Springsteen,” Schrader said, “So at first, I mentioned it to Bruce. I said something about doing ‘O Canada.’ He said, ‘It sounds interesting; send me the script, and let me read it.’”
But Schrader soon realized he’d made a mistake and offered the job to the wrong artist.
“But then I got the phone, and I said to myself, ‘Wait a second, you want an anti-anthem of the Canadian national anthem?’ Springsteen doesn’t do anti-anthems; he does “Happy Birthday” as an anthem,” he explained. “It’s not in [Springsteen’s] toolkit to do an anti-anthem, and so I got back in touch with him [explained], and that’s why I went back to Matthew because he’s officially anti-anthemic.”
The backstory of Schrader’s relationship with Springsteen is a fascinating element of film and music history and trivia. Schrader wrote 1987’s musical drama “Light of Day” with Bruce Springsteen in mind for the lead role, but he declined.
However, Scharder’s script was then called “Born In The USA,” and Springsteen used that title for his now-iconic 80s hit (Springsteen also wrote the song “Light of Day” for the film).
As for Schrader’s next project, he officially has two films in the works, one of which could be shot next year.
“I’ve written a noir; I hope to [shoot] it in the spring,” he said. “And now, as we speak, there’s a legal pad next to me, and I’m writing another one of these ‘men in the room’ [movies]. This time, he’s a professor of philosophy.”
Does he have titles for these movies and or actors in mind? Schrader smiled and then played coy.
“Yes and no, because [the films] will fall apart if I tell you yes. If I tell you no, I’ll get the [actors] in the part,” he chuckled. More from this interview soon.
