Wow! Such a good movie.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

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.

If you're looking for a feel good film, "A Shine of Rainbows" (2009) maybe right up your alley. Pop the lid off the Midol, swallow a couple of capsules, put on your stretchy sweat pants allowing room for the bloat, dig out the heating pad, lay on the couch and pull up "A Shine of Rainbows" on your Instant Queue playlist on Netflix and let the tears roll. It's a real feel-good experience. (Hopefully, your significant other won't view it as another one of your bawling shows).Maire O'Donnell (Connie Nielson) is a happy go-lucky, colorful, free spirited woman who adopts ten-year-old Tomas from an orphanage, and takes him to her home on Corrie Island, off the coast of Ireland. Once Tomas arrives, he must learn to adapt to his surroundings on the island, learn to make friends with children his age regardless of his inability to speak without stuttering, and win the heart of Maire's husband, Alec (Aidan Quinn) in order to stay on the island. Alec silently disapproves of Tomas' timidness and stutter, which causes friction between Maire and Alec.Maire's positive, vibrant, and warm personality teaches Tomas everything that he needs to know lies within himself--all he has to do search within. When tragedy strikes, Tomas digs deep to find solace with nature and with himself. Tomas is convinced that love exists when he experiences the beauty of an exploded rainbow and the magic that it holds."A Shine of Rainbows won" the Heartland Film Festival Award. The message in "A Shine of Rainbows" is powerfully intoxicating, devastatingly sad, and realistically rewarding displaying array of hope in the most tragic of circumstances. This film touches the heart inside out, leaving the viewer with a trail of tears and a deeper meaning about the magic of love.

I LOVED this love story. Its rare that a movie fully captures the love of a parent and child so fully but this one did. I caught it on cable the other day and did not expect to be so moved.The actor who plays Tomas is simply astounding. His eyes convey more emotion than any adult actor I've seen in the last year. Connie Nielson, who I've only seen in Gladiator and LO-SVU, is gloriously heartbreaking in her maternal love. Aiden Quinn is excellent as the Dad who was expecting another type of child. There is not a false note in the entire movie. While the plot had no real surprises, the unfolding of the story was just beautiful. As an added bonus, the countryside is breathtaking. Highly recommend this film.

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!