The Sweet Hereafter
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Metascore
90 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 32 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley
  • Summary: On a winter's day, in the small rural community of Sam Dent, British Columbia, a school bus inexplicably crashes into a frozen lake, taking the lives of fourteen children and injuring many others. Shortly thereafter, Mitchell Stephens (Holm), a big city lawyer, comes to the community with promises to compensate its citizens for their loss. (Fine Line Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    100
    This is truly a great film -- easily one of 1997's best.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    Masterpiece is the right word for The Sweet Hereafter. It is extraordinary: a poem of familial pain, a song of broken embraces. [25 December 1997, Tempo, p.1]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    This is one of the best films of the year, an unflinching lament for the human condition.
  4. Film.com
    Reviewed by: John Hartl
    80
    It's the survivors of this tragedy that must make peace with their fate, and the film finally rests with them.
    All this critic's reviews

See all 23 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
  1. GerronK
    10
    Poetic. Impeccable and absolutely powerful. Brutally harsh and at times, too hard to take in, this is a masterpiece beyond words. I ranked this movie #6 on my Top 50 Movies of all time, so that speeks on its profound effect it had on me.… Expand
  2. Kevin
    10
    Beautiful. Stunning. Blah blah. Probably one of the best movies of the 90's. May eventually end up on best of all time lists.
  3. adhiban
    9
    The value of human life and feelings are visualized in a picturesque manner after 'SCHINDLER'S LIST'. It remembers everyone about the central axis of our living community, it's nothing but the one to one help. Atom Egoyan simply says, there is no compensation for real love and affection towards the loved ones in this human ecosystem. ' THE SWEET HEREAFTER ' leaves it's trace as a best man-made art of its decade.… Expand
  4. DrewB.
    1
    One of the most boring and dull movies I have ever seen. A similar storyline and meaning as so many other movies that are much better. Movies can drag to a buildup but this just drags and then drops you.… Expand

See all 15 User Reviews

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