Whoops, let me correct something, I had typed the first paragraph just shortly after a nap and I was so exausted I had gotten confused about something. The townsfolk of Sam Dent, the name of the community, are not all innocent, some of them had committed some very dirty sins, and what Egoyan's explaining is that the deaths of their children in the bus crash could have been as punishment for the sins they committed in the dark. But, as mentioned before, what's good about the movie is that it doesn't glorify any of the really dirty subjects, and shows them as being as filthy as they most definately are. Well done.

The Sweet Hereafter is what I'd describe as a reverse version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin by rightfully showing the families of the British Columbian town as the innocent victims they are. Holm's character is probably what I'd describe as an anti-hero, since yes, he was exploiting the townsfolk unneccassarily, and he gives a good performance, as does Polley, who I remember seeing when she was a kid in such TV programs as Ramona and Road to Avonlea, as the survivor who sees through the Pied Piper for what he really is, and tries to stop him from exploiting her neighbors. What's also good about this movie is that it doesn't glorify any of the really dirty subjects it involves, and so it comes off as a pretty good moral drama.