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The Sweet Hereafter

There is no such thing as the simple truth.

1997 · 1h 52m · R Drama
Directed by Atom Egoyan

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Overview

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 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 has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
98%
Tomatometer
Fresh

A delicate and touching story.

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fresh

Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan's most ambitious work to date, The Sweet Hereafter is a rich, complex meditation on the impact of a terrible tragedy on a small town.

Brendan Kelly, Variety
Fresh

Though this is Egoyan's first adaptation, The Sweet Hereafter could serve as a model for how to do it right.

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

Audience is almost bound to be absorbed for the duration.

Mike Clark, USA Today
Fresh

In a season of expertly adapted contemporary fiction (like "L.A. Confidential" and "The Ice Storm"), this fusion of Banks's and Egoyan's sensibilities stands as a particularly inspired mix.

Janet Maslin, New York Times

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