The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
- Starring:
- Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, (more)
- Director(s):
- Atom Egoyan
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Drama, Independent Films
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Atom Egoyan's haunting adaptation of the Russell Banks novel The Sweet Hereafter was the Canadian filmmaker's most successful film to date, taking home a Special Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and scoring a pair of Academy Award nominations, including Best Director. Restructured to fit Egoyan's signature mosaic narrative style, the story concerns the cultural aftershocks which tear apart a small British Columbia town in the wake of a school-bus accident which leaves a number of local children dead. Ian Holm stars as Mitchell Stephens, a big-city lawyer who arrives in the interest of uniting the survivors to initiate a lawsuit; his maneuvering only drives the community further apart, reopening old wounds and jeopardizing any hopes of emotional recovery. Like so many of Egoyan's features, The Sweet Hereafter is a serious and painfully honest exploration of family grief; no character is immune from the sense of utter devastation which grips the film, not even the attorney, whose interests are in part motivated by his own remorse over the fate of his daughter, an HIV-positive drug addict. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 116 mins
Complete Cast:
- Ian Holm - Mitchell Stephens
- Bruce Greenwood - Billy Ansell
- Arsinée Khanjian - Wanda Otto
- Maury Chaykin - Wendell Walker
- Sarah Polley - Nicole Burnell
- Gabrielle Rose - Dolores Driscoll
- Alberta Watson - Risa Walker
- Tom McCamus - Sam Burnell
- Director(s):
- Atom Egoyan
- Writer(s):
- Atom Egoyan
- Producer(s):
- Camelia Frieberg, Atom Egoyan
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Brief Nudity, Sexual Situations, Not For Children, Adult Situations)
- Categories:
- Drama, Independent Films
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
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- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Cannes Film Festival - FIPRESCI Award
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Cannes Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Director
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Cinematography
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Orignal Score
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Actor
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Sound Editing
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Genie Awards - Best Picture
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Independent Spirit Awards - Best Foreign Film
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - National Board of Review - Best Ensemble Acting
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - National Society of Film Critics - Best Picture (Runner-up)
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Canadian Film
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Picture
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Actress - Runner-up
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Director
- 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter - Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Actor
