The Sweet Hereafter
A lawyer (Holm), pursued by concerns of losing a daughter to drugs, comes to a Canadian town where 20 children have died in a school bus accident. He wants the parents to sue to make those at fault pay. Told partly in flashbacks that dramatize the days leading up to the accident, this heart-wrenching story follows the lawyer from family to family as he coaxes each to join the lawsuit. As momentum for the case builds, he finds himself squaring off against the lone survivor of the accident (Polley), battling against the power of long-held family secrets. Based on the bestselling novel by Russell Banks, this shattering film won eight Genie Awards and garnered two Oscar nominations for Egoyan.
“Cuts to the bone and stays there long after its end credits have finished rolling.” — Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Staff Pick:
"No Canadian film better explores the subtle ways grief and tragedy shape the lives of everyone everywhere." —Josh
Director(s):
Atom Egoyan
Writer(s):
Atom Egoyan
Producer(s):
Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg, Robert Lantos, Andras Hamori
Cast:
Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Arsinée Khanjian, Tom McCamus
Genre(s):
Drama
Language(s):
English, Dubbed in French
Subtitles:
English, French
Region:
The Sweet Hereafter is set in British Columbia and filmed in British Columbia and Ontario. Atom Egoyan lives in Ontario.