United States of America | 2024 | 95m | English

Paul Schrader, screenwriter for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and other classics, serves as the director for Oh, Canada, a somber movie about a Vietnam War draft dodger, played by Richard Gere, reflecting on his life as he nears his end. After fleeing the US to live in Montreal, he finds fame as a documentary filmmaker. The story is framed around the aged main character being interviewed by his former film students, while his wife, played by Uma Thurman, anxiously stands nearby, demanding that the interview stop as he starts to spill his lifelong secrets.

Yeah… so, none of the drama really affected me. The efforts to digitally age actors to portray them at different points in their lives didn’t always work and sometimes confused me as to who was who and when. I also really didn’t like that narratively, it seemed like the act of coming to Canada was essentially boiled down to an act of cowardice. Furthermore, it’s in Canada where the main character makes some of the biggest mistakes of his life, especially in regards to his relationship with his son. The country he fled to was incidental, really, yet “Canada” makes its way into the title of the film. Why? Canada is further tarnished, I felt, when at the end of the film (spoilers, but not really) our draft dodger protagonist dies as he flashes back to illegally crossing into Canada as a much younger man. So what, Canada represents a place that cowards go to die?

Paul Schrader introduced the screening, which was the North American premiere of the film. His age was apparent with every word, and he was a talker! I don’t think he has any vendetta against Canada. Actually, this movie is an adaptation of a novel called Foregone. Schrader said onstage that “Oh, Canada” was author’s preferred name for that novel, so Schrader promised him that he would keep it for the film adaptation. It’s a competently made movie, sure, but I found the characters far too unlikeable for my tastes.

2/5

Viewed on September 13, 2024 at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the Toronto International Film Festival 2024.