The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

100% of critics liked it
(53 reviews)
84% of users liked it
(9,797 ratings)

Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of the Russell Banks novel The Sweet Hereafter was the Canadian filmmaker's most successful film to date, taking home a Special Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and scoring a pair of Academy Award nominations, including Best Director. Restructured… More Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of the Russell Banks novel The Sweet Hereafter was the Canadian filmmaker's most successful film to date, taking home a Special Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and scoring a pair of Academy Award nominations, including Best Director. Restructured to fit Egoyan's signature mosaic narrative style, the story concerns the cultural aftershocks which tear apart a small British Columbia town in the wake of a school-bus accident which leaves a number of local children dead. Ian Holm stars as Mitchell Stephens, a big-city lawyer who arrives in the interest of uniting the survivors to initiate a lawsuit; his maneuvering only drives the community further apart, reopening old wounds and jeopardizing any hopes of emotional recovery. Like so many of Egoyan's features, The Sweet Hereafter is a serious and painfully honest exploration of family grief; no character is immune from the sense of utter devastation which grips the film, not even the attorney, whose interests are in part motivated by his own remorse over the fate of his daughter, an HIV-positive drug addict. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Atom Egoyan
Written By: Atom Egoyan
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 20, 1997 Wide
On DVD: May 26, 1998
Studio: Fine Line Features

Critic Reviews

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
A delicate and touching story.
Brendan Kelly, Variety
Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan's most ambitious work to date, The Sweet Hereafter is a rich, complex meditation on the impact of a terrible tragedy on a small town.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Though this is Egoyan's first adaptation, The Sweet Hereafter could serve as a model for how to do it right.
John Hartl, Film.com
As in Egoyan's Exotica and The Adjuster, past and present are intricately fused by the crisp editing, the mournful shadings of Mychael Danna's score and Paul Sarossy's austere wide-screen cinematography
Peter Brunette, Film.com
a new moral urgency seems to invigorate this film
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Egoyan sways away from the obvious, eschewing easy tears for something more fiercely intelligent.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Cuts to the bone and stays there long after its end credits have finished rolling.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...intelligent, stately paced film
Derek Smith, Cinematic Reflections
Molds the past, present, and future into a tapestry of the cyclical nature of human suffering.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Based on Russell Banks' tragic novel about a town grieving for 14 children killed in a bus crash, easily makes my list of top 1997 films.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
Visits the impossible contradictions of bereavement with clear-eyed compassion.
John Venable, Supercala.com
This isn't a "flick" or a "movie". This is a film.
Lael Loewenstein, Boxoffice Magazine
A stirring portrait of a community struggling to heal in the wake of a crisis.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Explores the ways in which a tragedy enhances rather than diminishes a town's sense of community.
Alex Ramirez, Cinenganos
Una obra exquisita.
David Wood, BBC
...Egoyan looks at the essence of guilt and the complexity of human relationships in all their rich variety.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Drew S

A smart moral and sociological exploration, much more subtle than I've come to expect from Atom Egoyan, but I suppose I wanted more...it's pretty bland visually. It doesn't read low-budget by any means, but it sure as hell looks like it.
moon r

Quiet and solemn this work by Atom Egoyan is so beautiful and moving that I found myself gasping as the roots of a small town are ripped asunder by an unfortunate accident. Must see.
Jennifer X

The Sweet Hereafter is exquisite. Innocent, mysterious, prescient, nervy, calm - I love the whole concept of examining a town in the aftershocks of a tragedy; it's like exposing the bone and sinew of a body and running your fingers through the skeleton that remains.
Reid V

A bittersweet little piece of film about a town consumed by the death of many of the citizen's children in a school bus accident. Egoyan's movie is pensive and beautifully paced. The chronology is divided in a way that let's past, present, and future coalesce into a… More
A bittersweet little piece of film about a town consumed by the death of many of the citizen's children in a school bus accident. Egoyan's movie is pensive and beautifully paced. The chronology is divided in a way that let's past, present, and future coalesce into a solemn piece about the cyclical nature of human misfortune. The director doesn't want us to experience the tragedy itself and instead lets us watch from afar, just as helpless as any witness to such a calamity. The camera gently glides into every scene and around the characters in such a way that isn't partial, but possibly the only source of objectivity in a time when everyone seems to be exploiting this disaster by making it the scapegoat for all the wrongdoing in their personal lives. Also, rather than using this tragedy to exploit our emotions, Egoyan touches on important issues such as the decay of the community. Even in small smallest of places in which there once was a communal self sufficiency, Egoyan shows that the promise of material gain corrupts the quietest of souls. A young Sarah Polley even states in the film that, "we're citizens of a different town now", one that is living in the sweet hereafter. My main problem with the film seems to be the casting of Ian Holm. His character is very complex. Shrewd, but deeply broken. While I enjoy Holm as an actor, I don't feel as though he embodied all of these elements which would have made this film really land. None the les, It is a devastating but really beautiful film about personal tragedy and it would behoove you to spend some time with it.
familiar s

This was an unusual fare, but fortunately a pleasant one. The chemistry of different relationships is displayed excellently herein. The length of the movie is also appropriate. The metaphor applied between the movie's story and the pied piper poem is brilliant. However, I was a… More
This was an unusual fare, but fortunately a pleasant one. The chemistry of different relationships is displayed excellently herein. The length of the movie is also appropriate. The metaphor applied between the movie's story and the pied piper poem is brilliant. However, I was a bit disappointed by the ending. (It was as if the filmmaker had hit the ball strongly but got caught on the boundary line.) But you can't have everything as you wish. To each, their own. Go, refresh "The Pied Piper" poem that you may have adored in your childhood.
Dan S

A brave and unflinching look at guilt, loss, innocence, and grief. Nearly a perfect film, thanks in large part to Ian Holm's restrained but still powerful performance as an outsider trying to help the citizens of a small town seek justice for a horrible event involving many of… More
A brave and unflinching look at guilt, loss, innocence, and grief. Nearly a perfect film, thanks in large part to Ian Holm's restrained but still powerful performance as an outsider trying to help the citizens of a small town seek justice for a horrible event involving many of the town's children after a horrific school bus accident. Although one of the themes it tries to instill feels a little too forced (incest), this is a near flawless motion picture, one that should definitely be seen due to its sheer honesty and bravery concerning the innocence lost in a nice little town that is struggling to recover and cope with its aftermath.
Bruce B

This is another film from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival. And again like each of the other films from this festival we have a excellent film. Was inspired by the 1989 school bus crash in Alton, Texas. Directed by: Atom Egoyan. A Small town, has a tragic bus accident,… More
This is another film from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival. And again like each of the other films from this festival we have a excellent film. Was inspired by the 1989 school bus crash in Alton, Texas. Directed by: Atom Egoyan. A Small town, has a tragic bus accident, where bus driver loses control and the bus plunges into a frozen lake, with a father following his children to school, he watches the bus sink through the ice. A lawyer shows up to interview each person involved to start a law suite. Mean while his own daughter is involved with drugs. Ian Holm plays the lawyer and does an excellent job. Acting by all is outstanding. 4 Stars and a Must See, I was surprised to see it listed for under $6.00 on Amazon
Luke B

What could have been one of those sickly Hollywood films where a Lawyer seeks compensation for the downtrodden, is instead a harsh and unflinching critique of human nature. Holm is excellent as a lawyer that has lost his daughter to drugs and as his own kind of retribution, he tries… More
What could have been one of those sickly Hollywood films where a Lawyer seeks compensation for the downtrodden, is instead a harsh and unflinching critique of human nature. Holm is excellent as a lawyer that has lost his daughter to drugs and as his own kind of retribution, he tries to "help" the families that lost their children in a bus crash. What Holm fails to realise is that he is simply stirring up anger and greed in a community he doesn't understand. We see the secret and even dark sides of these peoples lives. Nobody comes off as perfect or inspirational. Holm is decent in his actions, but flawed in his approach. Some of the parents may be seeking justice, but are eventually motivated by greed. Even one of the survivors turns the event/lawsuit into her own weapon of spite. Complex and unforgiving, The Sweet Hereafter will inspire thought and conversation. No wonder it made Premiere's "25 Most Dangerous Movies Ever" list.
Daniel P

This is an evidently well-crafted film... so much so that I almost feel like I should spend the whole movie pointing that out and not watching it. That may in fact be Atom Egoyan's biggest downfall: he's so busy showing everyone just how brilliant he is that he doesn't… More
This is an evidently well-crafted film... so much so that I almost feel like I should spend the whole movie pointing that out and not watching it. That may in fact be Atom Egoyan's biggest downfall: he's so busy showing everyone just how brilliant he is that he doesn't really focus on just doing something brilliant. Nevertheless, this is a difficult movie - growing up in a small town, I recognize a lot of these (types of) people - and is still rather good, and Ian Holm and Sarah Polley shine in it. The latter, in fact, appears to show just how much she's learned from Egoyan about film-making in her directorial debut (Away From Her). I fear the pupil has surpassed the teacher.
Red L

Thought-provoking script and a very good movie. Combining the story of the devastation that is caused when most of a small town's children die in an accident and questionable relationships between two of the main characters and their daughters. Watch it if you can.
Leigh R

Powerful.
Gordon A

Atom Egoyan's best film
Lafe F

A sad film with some strong performances. It's solid and deeply emotional.
Mark A

A complex, multi-layered story of loss and secrets and lies, beautifully told by a master filmmaker. Ian Holm plays Mitchell Stephens, a lawyer who comes to a small Canadian town that has just experienced the loss of several of the children in a tragic bus accident. He hopes to get… More
A complex, multi-layered story of loss and secrets and lies, beautifully told by a master filmmaker. Ian Holm plays Mitchell Stephens, a lawyer who comes to a small Canadian town that has just experienced the loss of several of the children in a tragic bus accident. He hopes to get several of the affected families to sign on to let him represent them in a lawsuit and in so doing he creates a new tension and division in the townsfolk. The supporting cast was excellent, with Sarah Polley, as a teen who survives the wreck but is severely injured, and Alberta Watson, as a mother who lost her child, turning in especially fine performances. The stark winter landscape, the way the tale unfolds in the past, the present and the future, and the quiet reveals that illustrate just how much is hidden behind the veil of good reputations combined with the literary device that links the story to the Pied Piper of Hamlen all reveal the brilliance of the director, Atom Egoyan. This viewer had heard many good things about this film going in, which often only sets one up for disappointment, but happily, The Sweet Hereafter delivers.
Lesley N

Touching film about the impact on a small-town community when the school bus tragically crashes, taking most of their children with it. Enter one lawyer, ostensibly to focus and salve the parent's grief, but really to appease his conscience about his own family problems. A… More
Touching film about the impact on a small-town community when the school bus tragically crashes, taking most of their children with it. Enter one lawyer, ostensibly to focus and salve the parent's grief, but really to appease his conscience about his own family problems. A healthy discussion on the in's and out's of blame and compensation in our litiginous times, and Ian Holm does a sterling job as the outsider who means well, but only adds to the wreckage of lives.
Alec B

I was initially intrigued by the film because it gave Ian Holm, one of our greatest actors, a lead role. He is great in this and the whole film works wonderfully. Atom Egoyan has fashioned a film that is completely about loss. Its not about lawsuits or a town banding together. Its… More
I was initially intrigued by the film because it gave Ian Holm, one of our greatest actors, a lead role. He is great in this and the whole film works wonderfully. Atom Egoyan has fashioned a film that is completely about loss. Its not about lawsuits or a town banding together. Its about people who have lost a great deal and may never get it back. The film features a remarkable ensemble cast. There are standouts (Holm along with Sarah Polley and Bruce Greenwood are amazing), but everyone works in their perspective roles. The title seems to suggest something cheesy, it is far from that and it is very good.
Mike T

Egoyan's gloomy, contemplative study of loss and its effect on a community is not without faults, despite its unanimous praise from critics. It is a beautiful script full of subtext and truth, and the amount of levels brought to the story is really admirable. Egoyan directs his… More
Egoyan's gloomy, contemplative study of loss and its effect on a community is not without faults, despite its unanimous praise from critics. It is a beautiful script full of subtext and truth, and the amount of levels brought to the story is really admirable. Egoyan directs his picture with a lot of grace too, and from a technical standpoint it's a pretty polished film. Having said all that, there are a lot of moments where the acting is cringe-worthy, to the extent where it detracts from the power of the story. Of course, I wouldn't include Ian Holm or Sarah Polley in that criticism (both of them perform excellently).
Brian R

Painstakingly crafted by one of my fav filmmakers Atom Egoyan. A small town coummunity living in dread after a horrific school bus accident, a lawyer(Ian Holm) comes into the small community and wants justice to be served. Others feel that reviving the case will only bring up more… More
Painstakingly crafted by one of my fav filmmakers Atom Egoyan. A small town coummunity living in dread after a horrific school bus accident, a lawyer(Ian Holm) comes into the small community and wants justice to be served. Others feel that reviving the case will only bring up more grief and more bad memories. The character who strikes me the most is played by Sarah Polley who is the soul survivor of the accident. She looks discouraged and unhappy.(confined in a wheelchair and an unhealthy relationship with her father) Polley's character testifies to what really happened during that terrible time, but is it enough to personally heal her? You will know what I mean.
Sunil J

Breaks your heart quite a bit but such a good movie.
Krystle C

A beautifully nuanced tale of secrets, suspicion and sorrow in a small town wrecked by a schoolbus accident. The cast is amazing, and Egoyan has constructed a stunning story which captivates with its beauty and sadness. Gorgeous performance by a young Sarah Polley, including some… More
A beautifully nuanced tale of secrets, suspicion and sorrow in a small town wrecked by a schoolbus accident. The cast is amazing, and Egoyan has constructed a stunning story which captivates with its beauty and sadness. Gorgeous performance by a young Sarah Polley, including some great singing set to a lovely score. Awesome.