Sweet Hereafter (1997)

80%

(Image: http://www.sarahpolley.org/)

Brilliantly-acted and characterful movie about the affects of a tragic loss of youthful life on a small rural community. There is not much plot to speak of (save for an ambulance-chasing lawyer) but the emotional impact is devastating - especially if you are a parent yourself. Like a good wine with the cork just removed, the scenes are allowed to breathe to achieve their full flavor and work their magic on the palette. This reflects the time taken by the parents to come to terms with the tragedy and is a perfect example of an ideal marriage of form and content. Ultimately a disquisition on fate and destiny and of how we face up to the unknowability of each.

However, despite the Good Father sentiment of a father seeking redemption for his own fraught personal relationships, this film does not explore the self-pity of many of the characters as an issue even though it clearly is. This directorial self indulgence is common to creative artists who are using their craft as a form of self-therapy rather than as a valid means of self-expressive communication about the human condition, as such.

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