Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Steineded How sad is this?

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

SnoopyStyle Tomás (John Bell) is a shy, stuttering orphan bullied by the other kids. He is adopted by Maire (Connie Nielsen) but her husband Alec (Aidan Quinn) is reluctant. They live in an isolated farm house on remote Corrie Island, Ireland. Alec has yet to sign the adoption papers. They find an abandoned baby seal and Tomás takes care of it.This has a nice quiet charm but it's lacking in drama. There is no tension in the story. These are perfectly nice characters. It needs a hurdle but the only hurdle exists in Alec. That's not enough unless the movie intends to make him a villain. There are slight attempts at magical realism. While they are nice, they are not big enough to be awesome. This is a nice little movie but not much more.

Michael Thompson Please don't read this review if you don't want to know any small details from this film.It is impossible not to be moved emotionally by this film, the acting is superb, and the little boys acting will wrench your heart out, particularly when the man in the film burns the dead woman's clothes.I loved the Irish landscape, and the little cottage from where the story takes place.And the ending where the man adopts the little boy and the little boy calls the man his dad, made me literally cry.And watch out for the little seal, it's gorgeous, the seal is the little boys friend, almost human. Watch this film with your family, and keep watching no matter how boring you feel it maybe, my bet is you will cry.I wish they made more films like this, human, endearing, adult.

OliverGbyrne 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!

tollini 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.