‘Oh, Canada’ Taps Into the Grief of Life — TIFF

It was exciting to see the name Paul Schrader gently come up on the screen, followed shortly by the name Richard Gere. This reunion taps into a specific corner of cinematic nostalgia. The phrase iconic is thrown around easily these days, but in this case, these two created something that met that brief of what it is to become iconic when they made American Gigolo (1980). It’s a film perfectly on the cusp of the provocative energy of the 70s, yet embracing and criticizing the newfound decadence of the 80s. The fashion, the music, and the general bravado of the period were electric. Oh, Canada is a very different journey for these film veterans. 

Oh, Canada is adapted for the screen and directed by Schrader himself based on the literary work “Foregone” by Russell Banks, to whom the film is dedicated. It focuses on the life of Leonard Fife (Richard Gere; Unfaithful and Jacob Elordi; Priscilla), an ailing American-Canadian and award-winning documentarian who was one of many to evade the Vietnam draft by fleeing to Canada. The documentarian becomes the documented when his former students make him the subject of their latest film. This leads to an in-depth retelling of his origin story, which led to his change of nationality, and is what drove him to continue his path as an artist.

As a filmmaker dealing with his own mortality during the shooting of this film, Schrader’s attack on the themes in the story was apropos. End of life is something we’ll all grapple with, though not all of us have earned the attention of fans spanning almost half a century to express our own eulogy. Though Schrader seems to have a new lease on life when it comes to future projects, the recent contemplation of his demise was taking place during the making of this film. In the grandness of his filmography, Oh, Canada plays like both a bookend and a rebirth. 

Schrader has spent his career creating desperate Americans trying to navigate a flawed and complex America. He has critiqued his nation, a nation that often demands patriotic devotion. His choice to develop this piece surrounding a draft refugee seems fitting, considering his dogged focus on his country over the years. 

Through character and story, he has highlighted the challenges of survival and conviction in his home. So, why Canada? It is this writer’s opinion that he was attempting to tell the story in a new style that was not exactly American but North American. Director David Cronenberg talks about his home of Toronto being halfway between Hollywood and Europe, which gives it its specific style of filmmaking. Schrader has always had a European sensibility woven into his directing identity, though this picture has moments of the quiet strength that is part of the makeup of Canadian cinema. The attempt to demonstrate that nuance was certainly suggested but not entirely accomplished.

Oh, Canada is gorgeous. Though the colors are muted, it is missing some vibrancy—which may be the point. It is well acted by all, and Elordi’s acting will likely be overlooked while people try to compare him to Gere aesthetically, but he has captured a glint, a swagger, and the tone of Gere’s voice—a subtle and sexy tone that would be a challenge to keep understated. 

The whole film is an exercise in restraint, which will be seen as thin or too reserved. Though it does not stack up to his previous works, Schrader might be ahead of his time, like he has been in the past. Distance from this movie will make fondness grow for it.