Based on the novel Foregone by Russell Banks
Chronology
Leonard Fife, one of the 60,000 conscientious objectors and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid service in Vietnam, reveals all his secrets to demythologize his mythical life. This is the second time that Paul Schrader has directed a Banks novel for the screen, following his adaptation of Affliction (1997).
Quoted from: Film Junk Podcast: Episode 961: In a Violent Nature + TIFF 2024 (2024)
This is a drama about accidental conscientious objection between Virginia and Montreal in the late 1960s and 2023. Leo Fife (Jacob Elordi/Richard Gere) is a famous left-wing documentary filmmaker in Canada who dies of cancer in 2023.
However, he insists that his wife Emma (Uma Thurman), also a former student, be present on set
Leo has two former students, Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) and Diana (Victoria Hill), who interview him for a CBC documentary about his life. We soon learn that the myth of Leo’s past as a Vietnam War resister and free-spirited Cuban traveler is different from Leo’s current (true?) truth.
We learn that Leo’s escape to Canada did not live up to the myth
Leo is a little confused, but the story he tells is one of a superficial, aimless life that caused much suffering to others, including his two ex-wives, Amy (Penelope Mitchell) and Alicia (Kristine Froseth) and his son, Cornel (Zach Shaffer). Oh, Canada is a strange film in many ways, but it tells a fascinating story about the myths we all create about ourselves.
“Oh, Canada” isn’t about avoiding the Vietnam War; it’s more of a drama about confronting your own myths
Paul Schrader has several actors in several roles that are confusing and unnecessary, but Richard Gere does a great job of trying to tell the truth to the woman he spent 30 years with. Uma Thurman does a good job portraying Emma, who initially resists Leo’s quest for truth but then calmly accepts it.