Review of The Sweet Hereafter (1997) by Lynn S — 22 Feb 2009

Incredibly moving film, though for many this feeling is not so much a pleasant one like in say Rudy. Whenever I watch it, I always think about all of the different angles examined-the lawyer seems little more than the pied piper in the story Nicole reads to the children the night before the accident, but as the film progresses, it becomes clear how deeply his own loss of a daughter (to heroine) influences his desire for the town to push for vengeance. He has lost a child too, and like many others who suffer unspeakable tragedies, he is eager to find someone to blame. The other angle is the towns people themselves: those who align with the lawyer's push for blame, those who resist...

And of course, there is Nicole, seemingly the "lame" child from the story who can not join her friends in the sweet hereafter. This movie is powerful because it is not about death so much as it is about the pain of surviving. It is hauntingly beautiful.