Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Ian Holm | ... | Mitchell | |
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Caerthan Banks | ... | Zoe |
Sarah Polley | ... | Nicole | |
Tom McCamus | ... | Sam | |
Gabrielle Rose | ... | Dolores | |
Alberta Watson | ... | Risa | |
Maury Chaykin | ... | Wendell | |
Stephanie Morgenstern | ... | Allison | |
Kirsten Kieferle | ... | Stewardess | |
Arsinée Khanjian | ... | Wanda | |
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Earl Pastko | ... | Hartley |
Simon Baker | ... | Bear | |
David Hemblen | ... | Abbott | |
Bruce Greenwood | ... | Billy | |
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Sarah Rosen Fruitman | ... | Jessica |
A small community is torn apart by a tragic accident which kills most of the town's children. A lawyer visits the victims' parents in order to profit from the tragedy by stirring up their anger and launching a class action suit against anyone they can blame. The community is paralyzed by its anger and cannot let go. All but one young girl, left in a wheelchair after the accident, who finds the courage to lead the way toward healing. Written by Matthew Tichenor <mticheno@direct.ca>
"The Sweet Hereafter" was arguably the best film of the 1990s and is one of my twenty favorite movies of all time. Everything comes together perfectly: fine characterization and acting (especially by Ian Holm), beautiful photography, and a hypnotic musical score featuring Armenian folk instruments. The mood is deeply elegiac but never maudlin or weepy. There's not a false note in the movie.
But don't worry; I'm not going to start screaming, "If you don't like this movie, you just don't understand it! Go back to your Hollywood pablum, you cretinous moron!" That's a stupid argument in any case, and especially so here. There are going to be some people -- including a few art-house fans -- who will find this movie slow and tedious. For me and many others, however, the film is a masterpiece.
10/10