A Shine of Rainbows

"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.

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!

However, that said, I wouldn't call this entertainment. A small boy growing up in a catholic orphanage, clearly has a problem with men, which isn't likely to be surprising given what the so called men of the cloth used to get up to! A woman comes along to adopt the little boy and it develops from there. The "winners" are the child who play the boy and the scenery, some of which is northern Ireland (shots of glenluce). you may not watch this more than once and Im trying to avoid "spoilers" but its quite different from most films that have been on this Christmas and there are solid performances within it

I saw this film in December, of 2009 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

Tomas is a young boy that is bullied and unhappy at an orphanage. He is suddenly and mysteriously adopted by a childless couple, who live simply and modestly on a very remote Irish island. The Mother, although in ill health, is a woman of astounding positive energy and beauty and sets herself to healing the mental and physical scars of the boy's unfortunate upbringing. The Father meanwhile loves his wife dearly, but is far less excited by the recovering, damaged boy.

Intertwined with this awkward triangle relationship is light fantasy and legend and mystery of the gorgeous Irish coast. The Irish coast is so beautifully rendered that it is like a fourth character.

There is suddenly a great change in circumstances and two parts of the triangle have to come to terms with this tragedy. It takes courage and resolve and change and love.

The three actors of the triangle are vivid and hold your attention and each ultimately moves you emotionally in three different ways.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

I give this movie a "10" on the cinematography alone, but it's so much more than that. The story is heartwarming, directing is perfect, acting is superb (even young John Bell in what is likely his first role), and the musical score is worth purchasing on its own. Loved every piece of it.

The story centers around an orphan (Bell) who is adopted by a beautiful and 'colorful' Irish woman (Connie Nielson, an actress new to me but I will definitely look for her again) and her reluctant husband (Quinn, an A-list actor who never ever disappoints) and whisked off to picturesque Corrie Island in County Donegal. The film tugs at your heart without being maudlin or without even a hint at 'over-acting,' so common in movies about orphans. (Kudos to the director.)

I cannot recommend this film highly enough and am shocked that I had never heard of it before renting it on a lark.