Movies News Talk
Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) is a documentary filmmaker suffering from terminal cancer. Thanks to his prescription drugs, Fife has decided to share his life's events in an interview with former classmates Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) and Diana ( Victoria Hill), even though he suffers great agony both in and out of awareness. Arriving, they set up business using a lens created by Fife personally that lets the subject see the face of the interviewee. Fife first declines to take part. Having spent a long career uncovering the truth from others, he is at last ready to take front stage.
Schrader's camera technique blurrs the boundaries between truth and imagination and sells the nonlinear timeline with the fade-aways. Fife makes it plain at the beginning of the interview that his wife Emma (Uma Thurman) needs to be present. He wants to impart knowledge about himself that not even she is aware of. Leonard (now played by a compelling Jacob Elordi as the young Fife) leads us through periods when he makes dubious judgments as he effectively narrates his life. The way the narrative is told also alters the aspect ratio, therefore enhancing our capacity to relate to his memories. Schrader's camera work blurs the borders separating reality from imagination and sells the nonlinear narrative with the fade-aways.
Making this documentary for Fife is like a confession to the world: his whole legacy created on war escape is a lie. Actually, Leonard was a liar and a cheater; he ran away from his obligations at every single opportunity exactly as he was. Fife fesses up to his character once and for once whether it's quitting romances when they grew serious or deserting his son. Is his wish to at last reveal the truth a short fix for atonement? Mostly not. It's just a personal exhibition where Schrader gets to face mortality in a way that feels real, if sometimes confusing.
Oh, Canada is real in how it depicts death, deception, and remorse for a movie that shot just 17 days. The merits are the dialogue and narrative; Gere's voice calms you despite his admission sorrow. Gere's Leonard Fife early on says, "when you have no future, all you have left is your past." Schrader's inner revelation at this point in his existence as a filmmaker seems to coincide. Even if a lot of the film's message is still unknown, it feels inevitably deliberate to get us all to consider our own choices and regrets before it's too late.
Many people start to consider their legacy and go back over the choices they have made over the years toward the end of life. This kind of introspection helps one to feel pride in achievements. There are other times when hidden secrets bring intense remorse to the surface. Director Paul Schrader started his career in movies to investigate these ideas on the dying bed. Inspired upon Russell Brooks' 2021 book Foregone, Oh, Canada seems to be a very intimate meditation on dying. Schrader presents a considered picture on life and legacy with honesty and style.
Faced with a crisis both in his life and work, an American writer withdraws to a remote lodge in the Canadian countryside. Searching for peace to reignite his love of writing, he discovers that he gets caught in the enigmatic and turbulent life of the residents. Framed by the merciless but stunning Canadian terrain, this path of meditation and discovery forces him to confront his most intense fears and regrets.
Emma's many pauses during the interview highlight a fascinating interaction between the two. Emma finds it unbelievable when Fife exposes disturbing information while narrating his experience, which then leads to her blaming his meds. Schrader accentuates this by fading in and out of the recollections exactly like Fife's mind does. And the question is never whether what he says is the truth. The lesson is about exposing portions of ourselves as we never had before by means of the little encounters in the present. Finally, Schrader is reminding us that we might never really know our companions.
Oh, Canada played in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.