Éric Robidoux and Ève Landry in Louise Archambault's And the Birds Rained Down.Films Outsiders
- And the Birds Rained Down
- Directed by Louise Archambault
- Written by Louise Archambault and Jocelyne Saucier
- Starring Ève Landry and Andrée Lachapelle
- Classification 14A
- 137 minutes
Is it possible to exist only for ourselves? And the Birds Rained Down, a film written and directed by Louise Archambault and based on the acclaimed novel by Jocelyne Saucier, forces us to answer that question. Quietly, beautifully and sometimes uncomfortably – much like the story itself.
Arriving in theatres this weekend: The Gentlemen, Color out of Space and The Last Full Measure
When two women arrive at a remote hotel amidst a sprawling Quebec forest threatened by fires, both change the lives of the men they meet. One, a photographer (Ève Landry), arrives to piece together the life of a man whose mythos rivals the wildfire he survived decades before (and bands together with the hotel owner in the process). The other, an elderly woman (played by the veteran Andrée Lachapelle, who is absolutely triumphant in her role), finds solace among three hermits after escaping the psychiatric institution she’d been forcibly confined to since her teens.
From there, we watch as each person redefines their idea of love and of vulnerability, while simultaneously grappling with the choices that brought them to the same place.
Touching, heartbreaking and dangerously thought-provoking, And the Birds Rained Down will force you to re-examine your relationship with yourself, the world around you and the people you love. All while daring you to assess the walls you’ve built, lest they trap you in a life you fell into.
And the Birds Rained Down opens Jan. 10 in Vancouver and Jan. 24 in Toronto.
Editor’s note: (Jan. 27, 2020) An earlier version of this article included an incorrect name for one character.