A Shine of Rainbows (2009)

A lonely orphan's life is transformed by an extraordinary woman who teaches him to conquer grief and discover the magic in nature and himself.

Director:

Vic Sarin

Writers:

Vic Sarin, Catherine Spear

Stars:

Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn, John Bell

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Connie Nielsen	...	Maire
Aidan Quinn	...	Alec
John Bell	...	Tomás
Jack Gleeson	...	Seamus
Tara Alice Scully	...	Nancy
Niamh Shaw	...	Katy
Kieran Lagan	...	Ned
Frances Quinn	...	Mrs. Kane
Karl O'Neill	...	Fergus
Joy McBrinn	...	Rag Lady
Ian McElhinney	...	Father Doyle
Lee Satell	...	Rory
Adam Downey	...	Jack
Shane Mahon	...	Paddy
Fionn O'Shea	...	Orphan Boy #1

Storyline

Maire O'Donnell is a loving woman as rare as a double rainbow. Joyful, warm and caring, she adopts a young orphan named Tomas and whisks him off to a new home on remote Corrie Island, off the coast of Ireland. Maire shares with Tomas the joys of her island home and introduces him to the whimsical local folklore, including the secret of the seals, and teaches him that everything you need is inside of you- if you really look. But Maire's stern husband Alec silently disapproves of Tomas' timidity and halting speech. He can't hide his disappointment that Tomas isn't the kind of child he was hoping for and his reluctance to get to know the boy makes Tomas unsure of whether he really belongs. Soon though, Tomas too falls in love with his home, befriending local children, descending into a secret bat-filled cave, and saving a stranded baby seal. When tragedy strikes however, Tomas is faced with his greatest challenge yet. He'll lose everything unless he can find- and share- the unique gifts ...

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Plot Keywords:

rainbow | island | love | ireland | orphan | 

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Taglines:

Love has many colors

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements, mild peril and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tomás and the Rainbow

Filming Locations:

Five Finger Strand, Inishowen, Donegal, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sepia Films, Octagon Films, Téléfilm Canada

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At his audition 'John Bell (XXiV)' was asked to perform an emotional scene which required him to cry. When he came out of the audition, parents of other young hopefuls took his tears to be real and commented on the stress of the situation, thinking the boy had been put under pressure by ambitious parents.

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Goofs

The image of the double rainbow shown near the end is incorrect. The colors of the second (outer) rainbow will be inverted, with blue on the outside and red moved to the inside. The second bow will appear dimmer or cloudier.

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Quotes

Tomás: When I first saw you at the home, I pretended you are my real Mom.
Maire: We could let ourselves pretend that's what I am now.
Tomás: If I could call you Mom, I could believe it.
Maire: Then why not call me Mom? I'd like that.

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Soundtracks

Early In The Morning
Lyrics by Matthew Jennings and Karen McLaughlin
Music by The Henry Girls
Performed by The Henry Girls and Keith Power

User Reviews

You need to be heartless not to love this film!

Yes , Vic Sarin's "A Shine of rainbows" is a rather predictable film.A brief synopsis of the film would be..A shy young boy (John Bell) get adopted by a beautiful and kind hearted woman (The beautiful Connie Nielsen) ,she loves him ,her husband (Aidan Quinn) is disappointed that the boy seems too fragile , they have a hard time connecting until a turn of event makes them realize they need each other. ..But predictable in this case is not such a bad thing when it is so well directed,acted and overall put together. The threesome of main actors are just perfectly cast. John Bell as Tomás is particularly touching , you seriously root for the kid and from the first scene you automatically care for the character , he gives an outstanding performance for his young age. Connie Nielsen as Maire is mesmerizing , she embodies the sort of woman men dreams of having as a wife and children dreams of having as a mother and Aidan Quinn deliver a strong and subtle performance as Alec. The stories pulls all you heartstrings without ever feeling like it's trying too hard to moves the audience.All the emotions on display in that films comes naturally,there is nothing calculated about it and thank the lord that stops the film from ending up like a lifetime TV movie of the week with a bigger budget. The only negative point I would give the film is the baby Seal Tomas befriend, it is quite obvious its a robot and those scenes are distracting and feel out of place but thankfully those scenes are shorts and do not in any way ruin the rest of the film. What I am shocked is how little fanfare this film has received , by the time I write this review only six other reviews were posted...six!! I am sad that a beautiful family film like this one who came out a couple of years ago don't get noticed as it should when films like "The smurfs" who were just out in the cinemas seems to be the talk of all IMDb, as moviegoers gone insane? I could not recommend this films more , it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.It's a little gem!