A Shine of Rainbows (film)
Encyclopedia
A Shine of Rainbows, also known as Tomás and the Rainbows, is a 2009 Irish family drama, directed and co-written by Vic Sarin
and is a film adaptation of the novel
A Shine of Rainbows by Lillian Beckwith
.
, harassed and ridiculed by the other children in his orphanage for his timidity and stuttering. Just after letting a pigeon free from his classroom, he is called to the headmasters' office to be greeted by Maire (Connie Nielsen), who takes him back to her home, to be greeted coldly by Alec (Aidan Quinn
) who had wanted someone older and perhaps more confident.
Tomás makes friends with Nancy (Tara Alice Scully) and is greeted tepidly by Seamus (Jack Gleeson). They take him to their cave, inhabited by bat
s and Tomás runs away, scared, to which the two friends chase after him and console him. Tomás is introduced to his new school and instead of his previous school, he is generally accepted by the pupils. As Maire's influence on him begins to shine through, he starts to gain in confidence and become attracted to wildlife.
Alec starts taking a liking to the boy soon enough and takes him fishing
on the day after his birthday, after the couple buy him a fishing rod
. They feed a seal
and Tomás calls him Smudge and feeds him regularly. Later, he is prepared to go fishing with Alec and waits all day for him but he never shows up and Maire finds him and takes him out in the boat. This causes Maire to argue with Alec later on and tell him that he shouldn't have left him waiting. When on the boat together, Maire tells him to picture his grandmother in his mind and he does, seeing his grandmother for the first time. They then see a rainbow
and she promises to take him into it.
Tomás and Nancy leave school to find Seamus climbing a stone statue to get a bird egg, but struggling to stay on it as a bird tries to protect its eggs. Tomás puts his foot in the right place to allow him to climb down safely and Seamus is thankful and treats him thereforth with a little more respect.
Tomás goes home to find that his adoptive mother has a doctor at her side. He goes to stay at Katie's home, with her children, Seamus and Nancy. He buys a piece of very colourful tablecloth, as she is in love with colours and visits her at the hospital. He is then told that she is going to die and he rushes to her side and cries at the thought of her death. Alec tells him to leave and then later arrives back at the house and tells him that she is in fact, dead.
A funeral is held for her and Alec and Tomás are both distraught, but Alec won't bond with Tomás at all. Tomás says that Alec needs him but Alec continues to ignore him and gets rid of all of Maire's possessions because "she's gone". When Tomás finds Alec burning her things, he tries to stop him and Tomás tells him that he blames him for Maire's death. When he returns home from feeding Smudge, he finds Alec drunk slumped in his chair, he wakes him up and gives him a piece of red cloth as something to remember her by.
Tomás packs his things and goes out in the morning to set Smudge free in a boat, but he goes out too far and Alec realises that he isn't there at home and goes out in his boat to rescue him, he doesn't reach him in time and the boat flips over, leaving him in the water. He washes up against some rocks and Alec checks if he is alive, which he is. Alec then has a choice of whether or not to send him back to the orphanage, but ultimately gives Tomás the choice of if he wants to stay, which he decides to. It ends with Tomás finally calling Alec "dad".
Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes Partition, Margaret's Museum, Whale Music, Nowhere to Hide, Norman's Awesome Experience, and Riel. He also directed such projects as Partition, Left Behind, and Wind at My...
and is a film adaptation of the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
A Shine of Rainbows by Lillian Beckwith
Lillian Beckwith
Lillian Comber, author was born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, and wrote under the name Lillian Beckwith. Her most notable works are a series of semi-autobiographical books that chronicle her years living in Elgol, Isle of Skye, and later on the nearby and smaller Isle of Soay...
.
Plot
Young Tomás (John Bell) is an orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
, harassed and ridiculed by the other children in his orphanage for his timidity and stuttering. Just after letting a pigeon free from his classroom, he is called to the headmasters' office to be greeted by Maire (Connie Nielsen), who takes him back to her home, to be greeted coldly by Alec (Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
) who had wanted someone older and perhaps more confident.
Tomás makes friends with Nancy (Tara Alice Scully) and is greeted tepidly by Seamus (Jack Gleeson). They take him to their cave, inhabited by bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s and Tomás runs away, scared, to which the two friends chase after him and console him. Tomás is introduced to his new school and instead of his previous school, he is generally accepted by the pupils. As Maire's influence on him begins to shine through, he starts to gain in confidence and become attracted to wildlife.
Alec starts taking a liking to the boy soon enough and takes him fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
on the day after his birthday, after the couple buy him a fishing rod
Fishing rod
A fishing rod or a fishing pole is a tool used to catch fish, usually in conjunction with the pastime of angling, and can also be used in competition casting. . A length of fishing line is attached to a long, flexible rod or pole: one end terminates in a hook for catching the fish...
. They feed a seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
and Tomás calls him Smudge and feeds him regularly. Later, he is prepared to go fishing with Alec and waits all day for him but he never shows up and Maire finds him and takes him out in the boat. This causes Maire to argue with Alec later on and tell him that he shouldn't have left him waiting. When on the boat together, Maire tells him to picture his grandmother in his mind and he does, seeing his grandmother for the first time. They then see a rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
and she promises to take him into it.
Tomás and Nancy leave school to find Seamus climbing a stone statue to get a bird egg, but struggling to stay on it as a bird tries to protect its eggs. Tomás puts his foot in the right place to allow him to climb down safely and Seamus is thankful and treats him thereforth with a little more respect.
Tomás goes home to find that his adoptive mother has a doctor at her side. He goes to stay at Katie's home, with her children, Seamus and Nancy. He buys a piece of very colourful tablecloth, as she is in love with colours and visits her at the hospital. He is then told that she is going to die and he rushes to her side and cries at the thought of her death. Alec tells him to leave and then later arrives back at the house and tells him that she is in fact, dead.
A funeral is held for her and Alec and Tomás are both distraught, but Alec won't bond with Tomás at all. Tomás says that Alec needs him but Alec continues to ignore him and gets rid of all of Maire's possessions because "she's gone". When Tomás finds Alec burning her things, he tries to stop him and Tomás tells him that he blames him for Maire's death. When he returns home from feeding Smudge, he finds Alec drunk slumped in his chair, he wakes him up and gives him a piece of red cloth as something to remember her by.
Tomás packs his things and goes out in the morning to set Smudge free in a boat, but he goes out too far and Alec realises that he isn't there at home and goes out in his boat to rescue him, he doesn't reach him in time and the boat flips over, leaving him in the water. He washes up against some rocks and Alec checks if he is alive, which he is. Alec then has a choice of whether or not to send him back to the orphanage, but ultimately gives Tomás the choice of if he wants to stay, which he decides to. It ends with Tomás finally calling Alec "dad".
Cast
- Connie Nielsen- Maire
- Aidan QuinnAidan Quinn-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
- Alec - John Bell- Tomás
- Jack Gleeson- Seamus
- Tara Alice Scully- Nancy
- Niamh Shaw- Katie
- Laura Doherty- Nurse
- Ian McElhinneyIan McElhinneyIan McElhinney is an actor and director.-Personal life:He is married to playwright/actress Marie Jones. Together they started their own company, Rathmore Productions Ltd.-Filmography:-External links:...
- Father Doyle
Accolades
| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago International Children's Film Festival Chicago International Children's Film Festival Founded in 1975, Facets Multi-Media, located at 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, 60614 Facets Multi-Media is the largest conservator dedicated to the exhibition, distribution & education of foreign, independent & classic cinema... - Children's Jury Award |
Live-Action Feature Film or Video - English Language - Vic Sarin | |
| Genie Award Genie Award Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards... |
Adapted Screenplay - Vic Sarin, Catherine Spear and Dennis Foon | |
| Heartland Film Festival Heartland Film Festival The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland... - Audience Award |
Best Dramatic Feature - Vic Sarin | |
| Irish Film and Television Awards Irish Film and Television Awards The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community... |
Best Original Score |
External links
- Official production website
- A Shine of Rainbows at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...