| A Shine of Rainbows | |
|---|---|
Canadian poster |
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| Directed by | Vic Sarin |
| Produced by | James Flynn |
| Written by | Vic Sarin Catherine Spear Dennis Foon |
| Starring | Connie Nielsen Aidan Quinn John Bell Jack Gleeson, Tara Alice Scully, Niamh Shaw |
| Music by | Keith Power |
| Cinematography | Vic Sarin |
| Editing by | Alison Grace |
| Distributed by | Sepia Films |
| Release date(s) | 2009 |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
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.
Contents |
Young Tomás (John Bell) is 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) 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 bats 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".
| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago International Children's Film Festival - Children's Jury Award | Live-Action Feature Film or Video - English Language - Vic Sarin | Won |
| Genie Award | Adapted Screenplay - Vic Sarin, Catherine Spear and Dennis Foon | Nominated |
| Heartland Film Festival - Audience Award | Best Dramatic Feature - Vic Sarin | Won |
| Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Original Score | Nominated |