Paul Schrader’s ‘Oh Canada’ Arrives on Digital, VOD Jan. 21; on DVD & Blu-ray Feb. 4

Famed Canadian-American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Gere) was one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Now in his late seventies, Fife is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life.

Directed by: Paul Schrader
Starring: Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, Jacob Elordi, Caroline Dhavernas
Written by: Russell Banks, Paul Schrader
Rating: NR
Running time: 91 minutes
Genre: Drama
Theatrical Release: December 8, 2024
US & Canada Boxoffice: $143,413
Worldwide: $143,413
Country: US
Studio: Kino Lorber
Website: https://kinolorber.com/film/oh-canada?srsltid=AfmBOooqjIETOi4G5nMkpNppXEARUrlWqNwzI8eNoDizJs1GODQ9Vf-s

Famed Canadian-American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Gere) was one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Now in his late seventies, Fife is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life. A reflective, moving masterpiece from director Paul Schrader, who reunites with Gere for the first time since “American Gigolo” (1980). Fiery but feeling his years and his illness, ailing filmmaker Fife wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it’s too late. As the director of lauded documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his avoidance of the Vietnam War draft and his past relationships harbor thorny truths. Finally choosing to reveal all about his life and career, Leonard sits for an extended filmed interview with his former student Malcolm (Imperioli, charging ahead with candid stories about his younger self (Elordi) in the fractious 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable partner, Emma (Thurman), hears everything. Leonard’s successes are held up against his failings — the fibs held up against the facts — and as the man in full is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left.