The Sweet Hereafter

R

Released Oct 4, 1997

1h 50m

Drama

List

98%

61 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent The Sweet Hereafter on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

Jenna P

This movie is so slow it may as well be in reverse.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Sheila B

Pay attention to every character and their character. Some subtle stuff going on. It's fantastic and strange all at once. Who are the real villains here. I first saw this movie 25 yrs ago when it first came out. I was 47, not naive. Yet all I remembered today when I started watching again is the bus crash, and none of the other nefarious and dramatic stuff.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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

Petar D

My favorite movie. I get emotional just thinking about it, 25 years later.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/18/22

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

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Atom Egoyan

Director

Ian Holm

Mitchell

Sarah Polley

Nicole

Bruce Greenwood

Billy

Tom McCamus

Sam

Arsinée Khanjian

Wanda

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

95%

83%

Exotica

74%

79%

The Five Senses

78%

74%

Welcome to Sarajevo

88%

72%

Affliction

43%

78%

Paradise Road

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Like You’re Surprised: "Madagascar 2" is Coming

Trailer Bulletin: Where the Truth Lies

Egoyan’s "Truth" May Lie with an NC-17

View more photos

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

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A

Sep 7, 2011

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

CJ Sheu

Review Film Review

Atom Egoyan doesn't handle nuance well, coating the film in a blanket of indistinct subtlety. Properly dissected, one can see the sublime film that could've been.

Jul 1, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

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: Andras Hamori, Robert Lantos
Screenwriter: Russell Banks, Atom Egoyan
Distributor: New Line Home Video [us], Fine Line Features
Production Co: Téléfilm 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)

Most Popular at Home Now