One of the most honoured Canadian films of all time, Atom Egoyan’s “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997) was nominated for 16 Genie Awards and won eight, including best picture, director and actor. It also won three major awards at the Cannes Film Festival and received Academy Award nominations for adapted screenplay and director. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Canadian films ever made, it was voted the best Canadian film of all time in a Playback readers’ poll in 2002 and ranked in the top five in polls of the Top 10 Canadian films of all time conducted by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2004 and 2015. It was named one of 150 essential works in Canadian cinema history in a similar poll in 2016.
The film is making a 4K restored “comeback” in Canada playing next on 16November2024 in Toronto at the Revue Cinema, November 19th at the Bytowne Cinema in Ottawa, November 21 at The Paramount Theatre in Kamloops and on November 30 at the Metro Cinema in Edmonton.
A small town in British Columbia suffers a tragedy in 1995 when a school bus skids off the road leaving few survivors. Big city lawyer Mitchell Stevens (Ian Holm) is retained by a family that lost their child in the crash to sue for compensation although it is never clear who is being sued but Stevens is out for compensation far in excess of the school board’s insurance company payout to the families. Were the bolts riveted into the guardrail poorly manufactured indicating negligence on the part of its manufacturer? Stevens professes that there is no such thing as an “accident” but rather negligence and gradually he crafts a class action representing the parents of the victims of the bus crash.
The film is about personal tragedy, shattered dreams and resulting grief caused by the accident including Stevens’ own tragedy he struggles throughout the film with. One member of the town (Bruce Greenwood) suffering the loss of his twins distrusts Stevens as a lawyer out for a cut.
Nicole (Sarah Polley), permanently confined to a wheelchair gives the last pretrial deposition at the town’s community centre and what a breathtaking cinematographic moment when she is wheeled into the community centre to give her deposition. And what a perfect match the song “Courage” by the Tragically Hip is when she in the car to the deposition.
Pay attention to the fairytale read by Polley throughout the film and weave it into the ending. Is she or isn’t she remembering when she first met Stevens she said she would always tell the truth. And what a strange twist of fate for the school bus driver verging on comedic.
A truly great Canadian film which believe it or not I have never seen but thanks to its 4K restoration I have now seen it and glad I did.
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