The Sweet Hereafter Movie Review 1996

A schoolbus crash kills 14 children in the small town of Sam Dent, British Columbia. Big city lawyer Mitchell Stephens (Holm) arrives to persuade the townspeople to begin a class-action suit targeting city authorities and the bus manufacturer, while struggling to deal with his drug-addicted daughter Zoe (Banks). Paralyzed teenaged survivor Nicole Burnell (Polley) tries to cope with the aftermath of the tragedy as does widower Billy Ansell (Greenwood), whose two children died in the crash. But the case soon begins to tear the reeling town apart as everyone struggles with loss and fate. Egoyan's intimate, lyrical adaptation of the novel by Russell Banks, is filled with wonderful performances, particularly by Polley.

Distribution

New Line Home Video, 116 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: (310)854-5811, Fax: (310)854-1824, URL: http://www.newline.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 110 minutes.
Originally from Canadian.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Tragedy, Canada, Family Ties, Drug Use & Abuse, Law & Lawyers, Books to Film: Russell Banks, Buses, Incest

Screenplay

Atom Egoyan

Cast

Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Arsinee Khanjian, Alberta Watson, Gabrielle Rose, Maury Chaykin, David Hemblen, Earl Pastko, Peter Donaldson, Caerthan Banks, Brook Johnson, Stephanie Morgenstern

Cinematography

Paul Sarossy

Director

Atom Egoyan

Music

Mychael Danna

Producer

Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg, Robert Lantos, Andras Hamori, Alliance Communications Corporation, Fine Line Features

Awards

Cannes 1997: Grand Jury Prize; Genie 1997: Actor (Holm), Cinematog., Director (Egoyan), Film, Film Editing, Sound, Score; Ind. Spirit 1998: Foreign Film; Toronto-City 1997: Canadian Feature Film.