3. The Sweet Hereafter

Money cannot heal sorrow’s wounds is the lesson we learn watching Atom Egoyan’s snow-bound tragedy The Sweet Hereafter. Ian Holm gives an outstanding performance as lawyer Mitchell Stephens who comes to the defense of a small town that has lost a great number of its children to a wintry bus accident. Many of the grieving parents fall prey to his promises of succor only to find themselves entrusting themselves to a man who’s lost his daughter to drug addiction.

The whole story is backed by the Robert Browning poem “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” about a man who promises to rid the town of its pestilent rat problem in exchange for a paltry sum. When he does so, the town refuses to pay him and he takes away their children, except for one who is lame. The parallels in the two stories are stifling -- as it’s the testimony of one young girl who survived but has lost the use of her legs that acts as the pivotal climax of the film. Her own sorrow is that, like the lame boy in the fairy tale, she now is the one child left behind while her playmates have gone away.

This is one of those rare films with layers that are so deep that the act of peeling them back makes finding the core an emotional journey. One of the most critically acclaimed films of its year, The Sweet Hereafter found itself woefully ignored when it arrived at the theater. Take time to rent and watch this movie for it won’t be one you’ll easily forget or come away from without being touched. (Wesley Lovell)