A Shine of Rainbows

Tomas is a young orphan who is rescued from a drab church orphanage in Ireland by a 'rainbow' in the form of Maire (Connie Neilsen) who takes him to live with her and her husband on a small island of the coast of Ireland with a view to the couple adopting him permanently.

We are spared the most of cruelties that Tomas must have suffered in the orphanage (this film steers completely clear of the clerical abuses suffered by many children in Ireland's church-run institutions of the period).

If Maire is a rainbow to Tomas, her husband Alec (Aidan Quinn), a decent but surly man, is a storm cloud. He doesn't warm to the boy, as Tomas falls short of his expectations. Throughout the film, chinks of light shine through the cloud as it seems Alec is warming to Tomas, but the cloud soon moves over again...

There are many emotional moments in the film, from the outset. Overall, it works very well, and ends on a high note, though there is much heart- wrenching in between. Slightly off-putting for me was Tomas' accent, which sounds Scottish rather than Irish, as well as my perception that the emerging acting talents of the young John Bell (Tomas) didn't seem quite capable of delivering with as much naturalness as I would have expected.

A moving and compelling film.

"Saccharine stuff on Corny Corrie TimelessFlight18 February 2024

A Shine of Rainbows tells the tale of a young and shy orphaned boy, Tomas, who is chosen by a new foster mum, Marie, to start a new life at her remote home on Corrie - a quiet island off the Irish coast.

Marie is welcoming, warm and loving towards Tomas, but the relationship between Tomas and Marie's husband Alec is not quite so comfortable. Tomas gradually settles and develops confidence, until a tragedy strikes.

Although a sweet, good natured and inoffensive film, I pretty much hated all of it (apologies to those who liked the film).

Firstly Marie and Tom (played by Connie Nielsen and Aidan Quinn) are too pretty by half, and not at all convincing; they're handsome city folk who look completely out of place in what could, in reality, be quite a harsh environment.

Secondly, the overbearing and relentless music. Just in case you forget this is meant to be in Ireland, here's some Irish music. And some more. And some more. And some more.

Thirdly, it is just so sickly sweet. Now I'm all for a feel good movie, but this was just so cheesy it almost tipped into satire. Maybe it's just the fact that I had not long before watched 'Ryan's Daughter' and the contrast between the grittiness of that and this treacle-laiden offering was too stark.

Throw in a range of eccentric knitware and Tomas's bizarre relationship with a seal pup (a dreadful animatronic one by the way) and it was all just too much to stomach.

Even the wonderful landscape didn't save it for me; we get glimpses of a fab coastline, but are never fully immersed in it.

There's certainly nothing to hate about the sentimental story itself, but the way it was portrayed on screen was just too lightweight and hammy. An amateur, corny offering I'll easily forget."

Don't be so easily to become a fetus not developed with brain, yet.

Very sweet film that reunites Aiden Quinn and Connie Nielsen after their smoking "Return to Sender". Quinn is perfect as Alec O'Donnell, Irish countryman, who can't hide his disappointment in the timid boy whom his angelic wife brings home from the orphanage. He and Nielsen are very tight, but the main interaction of the story is between the beautiful and self-giving Maire and the very needy boy, Tomas, exquisitely played by John Bell. Under her loving grace he blossoms and learns to accept himself and to live a joyful life, but will he and Alec be able to stick together if Maire goes away?

Connie Nielsen is one of the most beautiful and gifted actresses working, and effortlessly fills this sugary roll with no false notes. For contrast see her sullen Charlotte in Return to Sender.

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!

I LOVED this love story. Its rare that a movie fully captures the love of a parent and child so fully but this one did. I caught it on cable the other day and did not expect to be so moved.The actor who plays Tomas is simply astounding. His eyes convey more emotion than any adult actor I've seen in the last year. Connie Nielson, who I've only seen in Gladiator and LO-SVU, is gloriously heartbreaking in her maternal love. Aiden Quinn is excellent as the Dad who was expecting another type of child. There is not a false note in the entire movie. While the plot had no real surprises, the unfolding of the story was just beautiful. As an added bonus, the countryside is breathtaking. Highly recommend this film.