March 9, 2002
6:30 PM 

"The Sweet Hereafter"

Directed by Atom Egoyan

Based on Russell Banks' widely acclaimed novel, winner of the 1997 Cannes Film Festival's Grand Jury Award, and nominated for Academy Awards Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, "The Sweet Hereafter" portrays the grief-stricken citizens of a small Canadian town traumatized by a tragic accident, and the insidious impact of an "ambulance chasing" attorney afflicted with his own grief and guilt. Canadian-Armenian, Atom Egoyan, skillfully develops the histories of three fathers, the secrets of the town's citizens, and the powerful roles of incest, pathological narcissism, and retaliation as the drama unfolds. The film provides a moving and authentic depiction of the grieving subjects susceptibility to convert grief and guilt into blame and monetary gain, and the resulting transformation of a community's lives and futures. The multiple determinants in a critical witness' behavior at the film's climax is worthy of much discussion. (Review by Sandra Pitts, PhD)