The Sweet Hereafter

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The Sweet Hereafter

R,

Released Oct 4, 1997,

1h 50m,

Drama

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Watchlist

98%

62 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

62 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer (Ian Holm) arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident (Sarah Polley) has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

Critics Consensus

Director Atom Egoyan examines tragedy and its aftermath with intelligence and empathy.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

There's a mesmerizing clarity to The Sweet Hereafter': you're moved by it, but you never feel the filmmaker is milking your emotions.

Mar 5, 2018

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

That's the true power of Egoyan's film - how in shuffling the chronological deck, we see what once was in this town, both in its light and its darkness, and how none of it will ever be the same, no matter what Mitchell Stevens says.

Dec 15, 2017

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A •

Sep 7, 2011

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Liz Braun

Original Cin

Rightly considered one of Canada鈥檚 most important films, writer-director Atom Egoyan鈥檚 The Sweet Hereafter, now issued in restored form, stands the test of time.

Rated: A •

Nov 5, 2024

Full Review

Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

[Recreates] the terrible iciness of grief in a way that is difficult to shake off.

Dec 30, 2023

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Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

The film works very well on its own merits combining stunning cinematography, brilliant performances and a stirring screenplay.

Rated: 4/4 •

Nov 23, 2022

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Audience Member

Didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 like it but it was superb acting, great cinema. Ya can鈥檛 unsee it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/22/24

Full Review

Shioka O

Adapted from a novel based on true story. While quiet and delicate story telling, it's moving but cold and melancholic. Great cinematography and acting by Ian Holm.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

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ronald h

This is an excellent film by all criteria: direction, camera work, acting. The performances are strong, particularly Ian Holm's. But get ready for some heavy melodrama and tragedy. I mean heavy, like a weight on your chest. The book had the same effect on me. After finishing it, I was almost sorry I read it. Are you in the mood for a movie about little kids getting killed in a school bus accident? Ask yourself before you watch this. Not exactly edifying subject matter----and, of course, there is no possibility of a happy ending. Not that happy endings are requisite, but be aware of what you're getting into. There is some really stupid folk/rock music on the soundtrack in the latter part of the film. It's supposed to be expository, but it throws off the whole mood.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It was hard to feel empathy for anyone in this story but it cleverly navigates the aftermath of a tragedy in a small community. Clear echoes of Fargo in the setting and local politics. A reasonable film but one I'll likely forget soon enough.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

dave s

In Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, lawyer Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm) travels to a remote town in British Columbia to initiate a class action lawsuit on behalf of parents who lost their children in a tragic school bus accident. Rarely has a film generated such a sense of pathos. The feeling of loss and suffering and anger permeates virtually every frame of the movie. Egoyan's direction is pitch perfect as he uses slow zooms, languid camera movement and panoramic shots of the vast, snow-covered landscapes to establish a slow-burning sense of despair and anguish. There is no sense of healing or closure, only the realization that we sometimes simply have to accept the misfortunes that life offers. The Sweet Hereafter is, arguably, the greatest film to ever emerge from Canada.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer (Ian Holm) arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident (Sarah Polley) has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

Director: Atom Egoyan
Producer: Camelia Frieberg, Atom Egoyan
Screenwriter: Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan
Distributor: New Line Home Video [us], Fine Line Features
Production Co: T茅l茅film Canada
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 10, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Scope (2.35:1)