The Sweet Hereafter

It’s said that every story can be boiled down to one of two narratives: Someone goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter is both. Transposing Russell Banks’ 1991 novel about a community gutted by the loss of nearly all of its children in a devastating school bus accident from upstate New York to snow-swept rural British Columbia, Egoyan explores themes of community, compassion, and courage in one of the most celebrated Canadian films of all time.

The formidable Ian Holm is Stephens, a lawyer preparing a class-action suit that will prolong the town’s suffering, while grappling with parental concerns of his own. In a defining role, Sarah Polley brings an eerie calm to the role of Nicole, the town’s sole surviving teenager, who comes to realize she’s also the one person who might be able to save her neighbours from their own corrosive grief. They are supported by a sterling cast of Canadian character actors — Bruce Greenwood, and Alberta Watson, Tom McCamus, Stephanie Morgenstern, Maury Chaykin and Gabrielle Rose, Arsinée Khanjian and Earl Pastko — as the traumatized parents.

Shot in stark beauty by the masterful Paul Sarossy and elegantly scored by Mychael Danna, The Sweet Hereafter presents an epic narrative in a minor key. Egoyan’s adaptation and direction were nominated for Academy Awards, and the film won eight Genies and a score of critical prizes.

TIFF is honoured to welcome The Sweet Hereafter back to the Festival in a new 4K restoration, 27 years after first bringing it to Canadian audiences.

ROBYN CITIZEN

Content advisory: accident trauma, mature themes

4K Digital restoration produced by Sphinx Productions and The Criterion Collection with financial assistance from Telefilm Canada's digitization initiative Canadian Cinema - Reignited.Print source courtesy of Films We Like.