“Sincerely moving…takes on grand themes of memory, mortality, and artistic self-reckoning.”
– Justin Chang, The New Yorker
“Gere gives his best performance in years, evoking Philip Baker Hall in the similarly confessional Secret Honour, at once defiant, uncertain and just the slightest bit frightened.”
– Hannah Strong, Little White Lies
“The present tense of Oh, Canada finds Schrader and Gere, reunited for the first time since 1980’s American Gigolo, at the peak of their powers.”
– Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, starring Richard Gere in his first collaboration with Schrader since American Gigolo. The film premiered in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and will continue to screen on the festival circuit at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival this fall. Kino Lorber is planning an awards season theatrical release this December, followed by a home video, educational, and digital release on all major platforms.
Oh, Canada is written and directed by Paul Schrader and based on the novel Foregone by the late Russell Banks, whose novel Affliction provided the source material for Schrader’s 1997 film of the same title. Oh, Canada stars Richard Gere in one of the finest performances of his career as documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife, who sits down for a final interview to reveal the unvarnished facts of his life, reflecting on his relationships, regrets, and mortality. The film co-stars Uma Thurman, Jacob Elordi, and Michael Imperioli.
Fiery but feeling his years and his illness, ailing filmmaker Leonard Fife (Gere) 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 the truth and lies in his life and career, Leonard sits for an extended filmed interview with his former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli), charging ahead with candid stories about his younger self (Jacob Elordi) in the fractious 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable partner, Emma (Uma Thurman), hears it all. 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.
The deal for Oh, Canada was negotiated by Kino Lorber Head of Theatrical Acquisitions and Distribution Lisa Schwartz and David Gonzales and WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.
“Oh, Canada is a stunning artistic achievement by the great Paul Schrader, a poignant, formally daring rumination on aging, memory, and mortality anchored by a commanding performance from Richard Gere,” said Kino Lorber’s Lisa Schwartz. “Schrader and Gere are true icons of American cinema, and we couldn't be more thrilled and honored to bring their reunion to audiences across North America.”
“I’ve been tracking Kino Lorber’s films for years, and I’m happy to become part of the family,” said Schrader.
Oh, Canada is an Arclight Films International presentation of a Northern Lights, Vested Interest, Ottocento, Left Home Prods. production, in association with Exemplary Films, Carte Blanche Entertainment, One Two Twenty Entertainment, Sipur Studios. The film is produced by David Gonzales, Tiffany Boyle, Luisa Law, Meghan Hanlon, and Scott Lastaiti.