THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997)
- Run Time: 111 min.
- Rating: AA
- Director: Atom Egoyan
- Writer(s): Russell Banks and Atom Egoyan
- Producer(s): Atom Egoyan, Camelia Hamori & David Webb
Stills
Plot Summary
A lawyer (Holm), pursued by the demons 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, dramatizing the days leading up to the accident, this insightful story also follows the lawyer from family to family as he coaxes them to join the lawsuit. One teen (Polley) survives, paralyzed. She has become the lame child left behind in “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” which she had read aloud to a child the night before the accident. Her important testimony is motivated by a troubled relationship with her father. A complex and haunting tale of loss and forgiveness that is sure to touch viewers and make them think.
Winner of eight Genie Awards and two Oscar nominations.
“A rich, complex meditation on the impact of a terrible tragedy on a small town.” —Brendan Kelly, Variety
About the Director
Atom Egoyan
Internationally celebrated director/writer and producer Atom Egoyan’s award-winning films include Speaking Parts, Next of Kin, Family Viewing, The Adjuster, Calendar, Exotica, Felicia’s Journey, Ararat, Where the Truth Lies and, Adoration. In 1998, Egoyan became the first-ever Canadian director to be honoured with two Academy Award nominations (for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) for his work on The Sweet Hereafter. His latest film, Chloe, will be released in 2009.