Home 1990s 1997 Movies The Sweet Hereafter

The Sweet Hereafter

90
The Sweet Hereafter
This still - one of eight - was scanned from an original set in the Northernstars Collection.

112 minutes – Drama
Language: English
Release date: October 10, 1997
Production companies: Ego Film Arts
Canadian distributor: Alliance Communications
U.S. distributor: Fine Line Features

Based on the novel by Russell Banks, The Sweet Hereafter recounts the events leading up to and following a school bus accident that kills fourteen children. The story follows the families whose lives irrevocably change, and a big-city lawyer (Ian Holm) who shows up in the community hoping to sign people up for a class-action lawsuit. In the ensuing atmosphere of suspicion, guilt, and doubt, a surviving teenager (Sarah Polley) manages to regain her strength and dignity, and by telling a lie, reunites the community, and drives the lawyer from the town. Atom Egoyan’s excellent adaptation of Banks’ complex tale of guilt and redemption is told in a Rashomon-like fashion. The cast is seamlessly perfect, and Holm’s central performance as the deeply flawed lawyer with a smouldering intelligence holds the screen with a magnetic core.

The Sweet Hereafter won the Grand Prix at Cannes and was named Best Picture at the 1998 Genie Awards.

The above still and the poster were scanned from originals in the Northernstars Collection.

The Sweet Hereafter

Crew:

Producer:

Atom Egoyan
Camelia Frieberg

Executive Producer:

Andras Hamori
Robert Lantos
David Webb

Associate Producer:

David Webb

Line Producer:

Sandra Cunningham

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Screenwriter:

Atom Egoyan

Cinematographer:

Paul Sarossy

Editor:

Susan Shipton

Composer:

Mychael Danna

Production Designer:

Phillip Barker

Art Director:

Kathleen Climie
Patricia Cuccia (Set Decoration)

Costume Designer:

Beth Pasternak

Cast: Roles:

Ian Holm
Caerthan Banks
Sarah Polley
Tom McCamus
Bruce Greenwood
Alberta Watson
Maury Chaykin
Gabrielle Rose
David Hemblen
Stephanie Morgenstern
Arsinée Khanjian
Kirsten Kieferle
Brooke Johnson
Marc Donato
Simon Baker
Peter Donaldson

Mitchell Stephens
Zoe Stephens
Nicole Burnell
Sam Burnell
Billy Ansell
Risa Walker
Wendall Walker
Dolores Driscoll
Abbott Driscoll
Allison
Wanda Otto
Flight attendant
Mary
Mason
Bear
Schwartz