The latest from acclaimed director Louise Archambault (Gabrielle), adapted from the acclaimed novel by Jocelyne Saucier, follows a group of octogenarians who have decided to live on their own terms in the wilderness of northern Quebec.
Tom (Gilbert Sicotte, The Salesman) and Charlie (Rémy Girard; The Barbarian Invasions, Incendies), who have been living in isolation for years in a small compound along the water, experience a death in their community of three when their painter friend Ted suddenly passes away, leaving behind a locked shed full of beautiful canvases. Steve (Éric Robidoux, Love in the Time of Civil War), a young manager at an almost-always vacant motel not too far away from the compound, starts working with Tom and Charlie, helping them maintain a low-key marijuana operation.
After Steve takes his aunt (Andrée Lachapelle) to her brother’s funeral, she asks that she not be taken back to the psychiatric hospital where she has spent the greater part of her life—and Steve knows just the place to take her to keep her safe and under the radar. Around the same time, a young photographer (Eve Landry) finds her way to the secluded compound as she investigates survivors of the area’s greatest forest fire that happened decades ago.
These two women shake up the men’s tranquil routine, challenging each of them to look at the world in ways they may have previously been avoiding. And the Birds Rained Down presents a story of intertwined destinies, compassion and love. A poignant meditation on the possibilities of living outside modernity, it is a tribute to the need to live independently and on one’s own terms—and to those courageous enough to pursue this.
“This melancholic charmer is a choral character study whose slow pacing matches the unhurried lifestyle of its protagonists and the diurnal and seasonal rhythms of the nature they inhabit.” (Lee Marshall, Screen International)
“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.” (Anne T. Donahue, Globe and Mail)