Maddyclassicfilms A Shine of Rainbows is directed by Vic Sarin, is written by Vic Sarin, Catherine Spear and Dennis Foon, is based on the novel by Lillian Beckwith. The film stars Aidan Quinn, Connie Nielsen and John Bell.Tomas(John Bell)is a young orphan who is adopted by Marie(Connie Nielsen), she is an outgoing and fun woman and slowly begins to draw this shy and timid boy out of his shell. She takes him back to her home on a small island of the coast of Ireland.Marie's husband Alec(Aidan Quinn)is disappointed in Tomas because he's so shy and he can't hide it for the boys sake. Alec appears tough and stern but is a really kind and gentle man, he loves Marie so much and tries to build a relationship with Tomas. For the first time in his life Tomas finds he is happy. Then tragedy strikes the family and everything changes.John Bell gives an extraordinary performance given how young he is, he really makes you feel for Tomas and make you want him to have a happy ending. Connie Nielsen is superb as the loving mother, she puts a smile on your face. Aidan Quinn has a much tougher role, he has to appear mean but also make us see that he isn't, he is a more introverted man and only shows his real self when he's alone with Marie, his performance is quite subtle and is one of his best.The film has beautiful locations and photography and is a moving and funny film.

kittiwake94 The film truly captures the spirit of the book which I read first. I have only one quibble ... seeing as the book is set where I come from: Lilian Beckwith lived in the village of Elgol on the Isle of Skye. John Bell is a Scottish actor from Paisley. Why on earth transpose the whole thing to Ireland? What's wrong with keeping it where it belongs? That aside, the film was beautifully acted and never descended to mere sentimentalism. Never were you made to squirm. This is a film which could be recommended to any family. It deals with the really difficult issues of life ... loss, acceptance and how unconditional love can cause a person to grow into who they can truly be inside. Also how unconditional love can heal.

sunergos 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.

cplosia During a previewed screening of this film the only shine throughout the whole movie was that of the light that burst through the door as I opened it mid-way the films screening as I left the theater. The film started with a boy in an orphanage and we as viewers are given the impression that he is unhappy; like anyone in an orphanage is. He is then adopted by a woman and taken to her home on an island off the Irish Sea. The rest of what I saw of the film is complete dribble and carries no interesting plot development. Aidan Quinn plays the husband and foster father to this boy. He is bitter and seems to dislike the boy. The mother is chipper and excited for the boy, although we find out that she has medical issues that will enviably lead to her death. This tear-jerking Irish film gets two-thumbs down! It is boring and poorly acted. I feel more pain and sadness for the viewers of this film than the characters in it.