Sarah Polley - Courage - The Sweet Hereafter

[bdeprima]

This is one the most affecting movies I've seen in years - maybe since Ordinary People. I to thought Sarah Polley's version was perfect for the movie - Haunting. When it first came out I couldn't find her version but after listening to the original - Tragically Hip's- they're both great - just a great song. Her's is perfect for the movie but the original is great too. 

[Basileus84]

Sarah Polley intrigues me. She is a talented actress ever since she was a kid. She is a good singer in this song. And she is obviously a very talented director. While I am certain she has a very excellent career in Canada, I have to wonder why she never tried to hit it big in Hollywood. She was good in it, but maybe Dawn of the Dead scared her off of big projects and the whole Hollywood scene. Hopefully she just likes Canadian movies because she has more say than she would in LA.

[MrKrissdekaliss]

@Basileus84 Exactly. Check out her interview with George Stroumboulopoulos on The Hour (it's on YouTube) and she explains why and says how much she likes Canadian films. Not everyone is made for Hollywood -- and Hollywood sure ain't what every (very) talentend actor-director wishes for. There are many fabulous actors and film tradespeople who choose to avoid Hollywood and its money -- mostly because it's so much harder to retain artistic control in Tinseltown...

[NorwegianWeed]

The look on her dad's face at 1:24 ...

[blinkzone1]

This is the best film Atom Egoyan has ever made.

[daf827]

Amazing film, amazing song - both the Hip's original and Sarah Polley's cover.

I've seen The Sweet Hereafter several times and I never tire of it. It is haunting, mesmerizing and emotionally wrenching.

[SFDoucette]

Holy cow, my 2 yr old daughter is named Zoe but I swear I wasn't thinking of the movie when we named her that! :-)

[SFDoucette]

Great movie based on a Russell Banks novel, and now that I have young kids of my own, it's even more poignant. Of course, being a Hip fan, I also loved the Courage cover by Sarah Polley in the movie. Appropriate song for the movie!

[eggsbenedictdotdvin]

I liked this movie but WTF was the point of the scene at 1:55? I mean that had nothing to do with the story or anything what so ever, and it never comes into play with the story and, DAMN WTF?! scene ruins the movie why do we need to know the dad and the daughter like to get it on in the barn, WHY?!

[1majorkonig41]

@eggsbenedictdotdvin That is one of the most important scenes in the movie. It is one of the reasons why she lies about the speed of the bus in the end.

[melvinhendrikse]

@1majorkonig41

Yes. But it still seems a bit odd. Did she do it just to punish him? The one thing I do not understand is that the piper, supposedly promised her something and the only thing her father had promised her was a "beautiful stage", which he would build himself. Maybe, because of what he did to her, because she was an emotionally damaged girl, she could never become the "beautiful rockstar" she ultimately wanted to be, instead ending up as a "wheelchair girl".

[LVEMEDO]

@eggsbenedictdotdvin Well just get your remote control & fast forward it By the way it is part of the story Why are you so uncomfortable with it ????

[captain334]

What a beautiful song.I heard it on the movie THE SWEET HEREAFTER,so i had to find it ..thank u!!

[HeisenbergTheThird]

Amazing movie and this song is song beautifully by Sarah Polley. Great video, fits the film and tone of the song perfectly.

[sevensilver1]

The film is really chilling. I think the acting was great but I found it very hard hitting.

[Mocknbird2]

Where can I find the MP3 for this song for legal download??

[PercyMethley]

@Mocknbird2 It's on the soundtrack, search for Mychael Danna on iTunes or something, he's the composer. There's also three other great songs that Polley sings. Another song, "The Sweet Hereafter" is on an album called "Festival de Cannes", also sung by Polley.

[MrAndrewhalliwell]

this is a grate song and move

[LVEMEDO]

simply a MASTERPIECE of a movie

[polina379]

Is that movie the early 90s?

[knobylob]

i love this movie and this song. i need to get the book.

[ButterflyRoseX]

*Happy Birthday, Sarah* !! ♥

[KathyExpat]

This was an amazing film. And I hate covers as a rule, but she did a good job with this one.

[frankdialogue]

Sarah Polley does a beautiful version of 'Courage'...The movie was incredibly sad...Now, was the incest sequence real or was it a fantasy?...And what was the LIGHT Polley's character saw through the upstairs window when she finished babysitting?...Russel Banks novel that was the basis for the movie was also tremendous...I bet the movie only played for about 1 week in the US: I saw it in London years ago and am still haunted by it. And, yes, some things 'couldn't come at a worse time'.

[redhotchilis2k]

@frankdialogue The incest scene was Nicole (Nichole in the novel)'s imagination/perception of the incestous relationship between her and her father, it was her way of handling the trauma of it at that point in time. The light which shines through the curtain at the end is supposed to be the headlights on her fathers car.

[warhols25]

This may as well be the best song ever written. It is the quality of songwriting on par with Lennon, Verdi, Mozart, Dylan...

[Mocknbird2]

@warhols25 Yeah, It's pretty great. The Tragically Hip (AWESOME band) did the original. But I like this version a lot. I think TH wrote it too.

[foxdiejh]

Woow It's beatiful O_O

[azolla99]

Her haunting voice and the sad video perfectly captures the lurking beautiful tragedy of human beings

[brunogoffi]

one of the most stunning movies of all times....Atom Egoyan's superbe hand in manoevring actors, kids, landscapes, texts and feelings is everywhere in this movie.....painful but wonderfullllll

[usbeko]

This movie is a masterpice! Its a poem.

[Juniorverse2000]

Has been one of my favorite movies since I first saw it in 1997. Great version of this song by the actress!

[MGM12]

Movie was on IFC tonight. Let me get this straight. Sarah's dad was molesting her??

[Juniorverse2000]

@MGM12 Yes.

[ArynCanada]

@MGM12 Yes.

[sawmonkey]

This flick was ripped off. Easily the best flick that year. What were they thinking?

[pwbdecker]

Man this song is making me so sad right now =(

[paolomasneri]

[...] As you see her, two years later, I wonder if you realize something. I wonder if you understand that all of us - Dolores, me, the children who survived, the children who didn't - that we're all citizens of a different town now. A place with its own special rules and its own special laws. A town of people living in the sweet hereafter [...]

[usbeko]

@paolomasneri: One of the best speech i ever heard in a movie. So true, painful and beautiful at the same time.

[yuggapukka]

One of my favorite songs ever, I'd forgotten how beautiful this version is and as well, how perfectly suited to such a wrenching movie.

[renatoaccioly]

Probably my favourite film ever. The soundtrack is incredible too, and this version of Courage is far superior to the original (by The Tragically Hip). Besides being a fantastic actress, Sarah Polley is a great singer... has she ever released an album? Hope so!

[TheBumbarashka]

i like it!)

[MattSouthardQuang]

ugly movie profound

[alegnamorg]

Love this movie

[blackfoliage1]

Such a great film.

[GusTheGoose]

Mike might have had the truck in the video and the Presidential Wave, but I have the little girl. Her tumor is getting better, it won't need to be operated on, and we finally have a bed to sleep on. Without Human Rights or Justice it will always be a realtime film of survival and tragedy.

Without emotions where would the movie industry be today? And we will always be stuck with rats just like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

0:08|0:20|0:56|2:22|3:41

"Yes We're Surrounded" SARAH QUELL

[paolomasneri]

Wow! This movie is not a complaint, nor a legal drama or a detective story. The film searching around the theme of survival to a family tragedy, the processing of grief, the guilt of adults when a child dies, the living with the pain. Based on a novel by Russell Banks. Egoyan made his 5th work, shot in Cinemascope almost away from a cruel and painful history. Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. Awesome.

[pocky4040]

I'd argue that he's ignored because he doesn't structure in a way American audiences are used to. The movie was lovely but it took me a little to adjust to the rhythm, and I'm an obsesive film buff. Surely it's harder for others.

[Truthzilla]

The problem is just that, as mentioned already, he makes intelligent movies. It's not a statement of liberal elitism to state the the bulk of the world isn't looking for anything challenging or intelligent. The reason this movie is hugely well known is the same reason that classic music or jazz isn't widely appreciated. It actually requires some thought and appreciation of subtley. There are hundreds of other films that suffer similarly. Doesn't matter the nationality of the director.

[Truthzilla]

Oops that should have been "this movie is NOT hugely well known". Oh, the difference one word makes.

Oh, and though I've said before way back on this thread, I'll say again, one of the best films ever made. It completely wrecks me every time I see it. It just packs an emotional punch rarely ever achieved in film. If I had to to pick two desert island films, it might well be this one and "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman".

[smadxs]

@Truthzilla Well said! And very true!

[gottajacket]

I heard this song on Charmed Long Live the Queen. Very sad.

[muchtyly]

it´s so much better

[poochiekafelnikov]

loved this sweet slice of misery...

[ToTBreech]

I have been a Hip fan since before most people had ever heard of the Hip. This is one of the few songs that a cover has been done better than the original.

[yellginlaguay]

JUST finished watching this film. Its unbelievably good.

I'd probably have a bigger appreciating for The Hip if I didn't have it rammed into my ears for decades. Fuck the Canadian content laws.

[Truthzilla]

One of the best movies ever made. It's not widely known and appreciated, but it's stunningly powerful. Sarah Poley is amazingly good, but so is everyone in it. And hearing this tune within the context of the movie gives it even more emotional punch.

[mathgeek37]

Just finished watching it myself. I absolutely love the movie. Both versions of this song made this movie hit home.

Very good review on your part.

[meredumais]

Loved this beautiful and heartbreaking film...Atom Egoyan is one of the best directors around, sadly ignored in the U.S. since he's Canadian. The Pied Piper references were a stroke of sheer genius. And I am stunned by Sarah's singing talent.

Didn't know until recently that the film is based on a novel that is, in turn, based on a tragic case in Southern Texas in the early nineties, I believe...

[lurdanhelhart]

Ignored by US masses? yes. By US critics? no. He's ignored by the US public not because he's **Canadian** but because he's **intelligent**. David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman are less known than he is.

[meredumais]

Lurdanhelhart, wish I could agree, but I don't...Bergman and Lynch are very well-known, the former misunderstood and lumped in with Fellini, the latter introduced to the masses when 'Twin Peaks' hit the small screen. I just asked my 18-year-old what those names meant to him. Lynch? 'The guy who did 'Twin Peaks'. Bergman? 'Did all those gloomy no-dialogue films, right?' Atom Egoyan? 'Never heard of him.' And he's a bright kid who spent many summers in Montreal and Toronto growing up...

[lurdanhelhart]

Well, I was exaggerating slightly comparing him to Bergman and Lynch, but not by much. Receipts for Lynch's best films aren't much higher than The Sweet Hereafter's gross: e.g., $8,551,228 for Blue Velvet vs. $4,306,697 for this movie. In Hollywood terms comparing those numbers amounts to splitting epsilons.

[lurdanhelhart]

Yes, that was my point - it won't succeed not because he's Canadian but because he's "challenging", a word which is synonymous with "boring" and "fucking gay" here in this great land.

[lurdanhelhart]

I'm convinced that there's no access to great films because people just don't care. Manipulative bilge like Schindler's List will reign forever on even plebes' best-of lists, while this will always have to be prefaced with the quasi-rhetorical "Have you ever heard of ..." line. Its characterizations are too complex; if everything's not laid out in the most obvious way then your average American cit gets confused and bored, having as he does the emotional and intellectual depth of a reptile.

[weeyu]

people say i'm gonna hate this song after watching the movie...so i dont wanna watch it cus i love this song sooo much XD

[Laurlcrown]

The Hip's version is a longtime favorite. This reworking is quite different in feel -- heartbreaking over cynical this time -- but it is absolutely beautiful.

[grenzman]

Better than the Hip. Then again, almost everything is better than the Hip.

[Axlegun]

Just check out the Hip's version,best hip song ever.

[Axlegun]

I like it, but Gord Downey is better.

[Axlegun]

But Sarah Polley is better looking than Gord Downey.

[siobyone]

This is such a haunting song. This movie stayed with me for a long time, it was so sad. I kept humming this song, it got stuck in my head. Caution to any sensitive people thinking of watching The Sweet Hereafter-- especially if you're a parent. It was a good movie though-- great acting.

[dkampen]

"the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them."

[raychibabe]

i first heard this song on charmed and i finally tracked it down and listened to the whole thing. it was great and i even watched the video. then i read what the film was about and i now cant stop crying when i hear it because of the tender scenes between the parents and their children in the video. Have 2 boys aged 3 and 1 is really sick. i couldn't bear 2 lose them like that, this is 1 of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard but dont think i'l be able 2 listen again at least til he's beta

[xNATALIEAtTheDiscox]

same about charmed!

i've been looking for it for ages haha.

=]

[ItsSecretlyACover]

Rock on, finally someone outside of Canada appreciates the Hip enough to do a proper cover.

[1majorkonig41]

Sarah Polley, the one doing the cover, is from Canada.

[ItsSecretlyACover]

Ah, well then comment withdrawn lol

[patrick112590]

@1majorkonig41 lmao!!!! Owned.

[earthboundcruiser]

@1majorkonig41 and the directer Atom Egoyan is Canadian too,,,

[oldfriendofmine]

lol yeah, Sarah Polley is as Canadian as they come.

[nusumareta]

@1majorkonig41

So is Atom Egoyan (director of the film, and the "Hip fan" who put it in the the film).

[Bertsnap]

And so is the the director Atom Egoyan

[jraposo15]

@ItsSecretlyACover fail

[duncanpunisher]

@ItsSecretlyACover yeah man what are you talking about? Plus it was made for the movie which itself is Canadian

[katzbrad]

Terrific video to a great song!

[mccririck1]

love this song from charmed too! always makes me sad

[Gianluka91]

i know this song thanks to charmed... i love it

[LarsAlfredson]

Sarah Polley, a woman of many talents.

[nusumareta]

Thank you for posting. I haven't seen this movie in years, but I've never been able to forget this song (this version, specifically -- not all that familiar with the original).

[TaintedMemories]

Wow.

I haven't even seen the movie (I know what it's about though) but..wow. This is beautiful. The song is so haunting and it fits perfectly. Amazing.

[jhutch524]

This is probably the most beautiful, haunting, and tragic movies I've ever seen. I love it. Its so different from the book, but in an astounding way. Its such an interesting take on father/daughter relationships and - Atom Egoyan's favorite subject- finding the truth. This is a really good video for this song. For a minute there, I thought it was produced by the studio until I read your synopsis. Good work!

[TheElfowl]

@jhutch524 You´re so right about the movie...it IS "the most, beautiful, haunting and tragic movie". Full stop. And so very little known outside the States and Canada, although it won the Cannes first prize. Hard to imagine that people like Gabrielle Rose or Bruce Greenwood were never even as much as considered for an Acadamy Award...

[LexieDimera]

love this song

[youjamie]

marc donato is the ballinest guy ever

[gm77777]

Maybe it's due to a bad translation, but I didn't understand this film :(

[docjudge]

Beautifully done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lovefreak27]

i cry everytime i hear this song!

T.T

[melvinhendrikse]

If I hear this song, I have to think of charmed. Especially the scene where phoebe lies on her bed, crying about cole being death :(

[LexieDimera]

it's remember Charmed so beautiful poor Phoebe :'(

[canuck234]

I have to admit I like the original by the Hip best. That being said, I didn't think this would be any good. The Hip are a hard band to cover. I was really impressed with this. It puts a different spin on. She made it her own, and that's important with a cover song. Good stuff!

[KrunkPrincess15]

i LOVE this song; it makes me cry everytime i watch Charmed after Phoebe kills Cole and her and paige and piper are cryin i cry lyke i'm right there and i helped vanguish him. This song is so touching!

[Pashdear]

Great video! Love this song.

[siriusluver]

this is such a pretty song. i cry wen i hear it cuz i think of phoebe crying with piper and paige. its amazing how artists get alot of their music recongized on shows like Charmed

[bigbonethadon]

i love this song i've been lookin for it awhile

it's the song they played after Pheoebe killed Cole on Charmed when she was crying with piper and paige

[dog1010]

Thanks for that, one of my favourite haunting songs