100 minutes – Family drama
Language: English
Release date: April 9, 2010
DVD release date: Marcy 15, 2011
Canadian distributor: eOne Entertainment

A Shine of Rainbows, an Ireland-Canada coproduction, is set in a small village on wind-swept Corrie Island, just off the coast of Ireland. Based on the book by Lillian Beckwith, it follows an orphan’s struggle to find acceptance and belonging in his new home. But eight-year-old Tomás (John Bell) has a gentle and unassuming personality that makes his life as an orphan unlivable. His helpful nature is interpreted as weakness, and the other boys at the orphanage bully him. Then, one day, a colourful and kind woman named Maire O’Donnell (Connie Nielsen) sweeps in and infuses his once-cheerless existence with love, laughter and the belief in magic. After being whisked back to enchanted Corrie Island off the West Coast, Tomás thrives but Maire`s reserved husband (Aidan Quinn) can’t hide his lack of interest in the child. But when tragedy strikes, Tomás is faced with his greatest challenge and might lose everything unless he can find and share the magic that`s inside him. Risking all, he embarks on a perilous journey where he will need to call on all of Maire’s gifts to triumph.

Northernstars reviews A Shine of Rainbows.