'And it rained birds': an inspiring journey into the lush forests of Quebec
The fact that a film is released in theaters begins to be a cause for celebration in itself. Contrary to many other countries, Spanish theaters are now open, and will screen starting this Friday, March 5 And it rained birds.
After its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019 could already be seen in San Sebastian Film Festival of that same year. It would have arrived in our theaters on March 13, 2020, the weekend that the first state of alarm was decreed. We all know what happened next, so With a year of delay we will finally be able to see it thanks to the distributor Avalon.
The action of And It Rained Birds revolves around three old men (Gilbert Sicotte, Rémy Girard and Kenneth Welsh) who have decided to leave everything behind. and go to spend the last stage of his life in the depths of the forests that are in Abitibi , a remote municipality in the province of Québec (Canada).
There, on the shores of the homonymous lake, they have built almost clandestinely the cabins where they live in a hermit and anonymous way.
Andree Lachapelle
The person in charge of directing and signing the film's script is Canadian filmmaker Louise Archambault, who adapts the book of the same name by Jocelyne Saucier.
“The first time I read the novel (…) I was fascinated by its singular universe. First of all, Jocelyne's narration is very cinematic. She allows to see the hermit huts hidden in the heart of the Abitibi forest with its misty and dark lakes. The smell of the humid forest, the lichen and the fireplace reaches us. We live the day-to-day life of hermits, wizened and alert, with their satisfying lives,” she states.
'And it rained birds' arrives in our cinemas
As we suspect, their haven of peace is about to fall apart. The death of the oldest of the three will precipitate events: the fires are getting closer to their area, while they are visited by two unexpected people. An old woman who arrives fleeing from her past (Andrée Lachapelle) and a young woman dedicated to photography (Eve Landry).
A visual journey into Canada's forests
Archambault herself explains it this way: “We are fascinated by Gertrude, the 80-year-old newcomer who brings an amazing breath of fresh air, despite her repressed insane past. At the end of the novel, the vulgar and mature characters of it, with unusual trajectories, fully inhabited me and filled my heart and soul”.
“The book narrates something great in a simple way. And it rained birds describes a unique, visual, sensorial and cinematographic universe with rich and atypical characters. It is an ode to life and love, a universal theme that makes us know others, their differences. That's why I wanted to make it a movie full of love and grace, ”she adds.
Canadian filmmaker Louise Archambault adapts Jocelyne Saucier's book of the same name
The landscape, as is usual in this type of film, is one more character. Lush forests and the waters of Lake Abitibi, ideal for the characters to swim, row and fish daily. The person in charge of moving them from the pages of the book to the frames of the film is the director of photography Mathieu Laverdière, tanned in more than thirty short films and fifty video clips.
The themes of this drama are none other than those that can be imagined: life, death and how to face them; the irremediable passage of time; the capacity and consequences of leaving everything behind; love and its taboos.
The landscape is another character
This is how the director explains them: “Throughout the different themes of the script, such as the past (and its weight), the need to wander and flee (the forest), redemption (through art); we always keep love in mind. Lost love, new love, atypical love; all of them vibrant with passion”.
And she continues: “Marie-Desneige discovers love for the first time at the age of 80, while Ted Boychuck dies at 82, always disturbed by the love that he did not know how to choose. Two main love stories that intertwine and respond to each other. And all the other characters are involved in one way or another."
An ode to life and love
In general, a reflection on how to face life when reaching old age that can teach valuable lessons to any viewer, whatever their age.
“With And It Rained Birds I want to make a film that makes you want to enjoy life and love. With those three hermits and a former reclusive patient, we will never see old people the same again. And we may hope to grow old with the same vitality of heart as them, ”says the author of it.
Louise Archambault