Once upon a time movies this moving were made all the time: movies with complex characters, a great narrative and a winning cast. Well, with our stupid movies, the wait is over because "The Sweet Hereafter" has hit theaters, and the result is amazing. Winner of three awards at Cannes, and a very good run in Canadian theaters, "Sweet" is one of the best films of the year: a complex, multilayered character study facing a horrible bus crash that kills sixteen children.

A lawyer (Ian Holm) is sent to investigate the parents and the people surrounding the children who losttheir lives, in hopes of suing the government. What he finds: parents at war. Hippie parents. The incompetent bus driver. And the lost soul, one of the few survivors, a teenage girl (Sarah Polley). She is the main focus of the tragedy, since she is a twenty-four a day reminder of the crash, and her words can win the case.

The film is told in a very multi-layered format, never in chronological order. We learn about the lawyer's story, with his drugged out daughter and his other past goings on, about the teenager's incestual relationship with her father, and about the families.

All the stories are beautifully told and executed. Directed by Atom Egoyan based on the novel by Russell Banks, the movie is engaging and passionately moving, terrifying and hypontic. Egoyan sidesteps all the cliches that this film could face if under the hand of another director. Keep in mind I have said the word"moving", and take it seriously. And the performances are real and heartfelt. Ian Holm and Sarah Polley are the major contenders for Oscar consideration: Holm has a deep presence that is always wonderful, and Polley's charisma is tender and true. Especially cool is that this is a Canadian film (it has opened about six weeks earlier here), that has more power than almost any Hollywood film this year. I haven't told youmuch, about this film actually, you must take in this movie to find out why I didn't.

Grade: A

Tech Review:

Picture: 5 A glorious picture with deep blacks, startling contrast and beautiful colors.

Sound: 4 A rich Dolby Digital mix, sometimes very harsh, but has very powerful surrounds.

Photography: 5 Filmed in Panavision, for very good reasons. Hopefully this will get a best cinematography oscar, because the landscape takes up your entire field of vision. Panavision makes this whole picture look startlingly real.

Length: 112 minutes. Feel free to send any questions or comments (or if you want to talk about movies) about any of my reviews to jwhyte2@hotmail.com

Atom Egoyan\'s \"The Sweet Hereafter,\" is a powerful film on a town that was shaken after a bus accident that killed many kids. this is a statement about a town that is overcome with grief over a tragedy. this film is strong on script and acting. A must-see movie.