The Sweet Hereafter poster

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The Sweet Hereafter

1997 · Movie · 112 min
B

MEANRANK

80/100

Averaged across 9 ratings · 78K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 30 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

69–98 out of 100

Mostly agreed

Lowest is Kinopoisk on 69, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 98. Critics average 94, everyone else 76.

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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.

Details

Director
Atom Egoyan
Released
25 September 1997
Country
Canada
Language
English
Runtime
112 min
Rated
R
Budget
$5.0M
Box office
$8.0M
Awards
23 wins, 17 nominations

This title elsewhere

Ian Holm

Ian Holm

Mitchell Stephens

Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley

Nicole Burnell

Tom McCamus

Tom McCamus

Sam Burnell

Gabrielle Rose

Gabrielle Rose

Dolores Driscoll

Alberta Watson

Alberta Watson

Risa Walker

Caerthan Banks

Zoe Stephens

Maury Chaykin

Maury Chaykin

Wendell Walker

Awards & nominations

See all 40 →

5 major awards won · 23 wins from 40 nominations across 13 ceremonies

Independent Spirit Awards 1998 Best Foreign Film Atom Egoyan Winner
Cannes Film Festival 1997 FIPRESCI Prize Atom Egoyan Winner
Cannes Film Festival 1997 Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Atom Egoyan Winner
Cannes Film Festival 1997 Grand Prize of the Jury Atom Egoyan Winner
Writers Guild of Canada 1997 WGC Award Atom Egoyan Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Adapted Screenplay Atom Egoyan Nominee
Academy Awards 1998 Best Director Atom Egoyan Nominee
Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards 1998 Best Cinematography in Theatrical Feature Paul Sarossy Winner
Show all 40 awards across 13 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.