THE RAINBOW KID
DISCOVERY Kire Paputts. Canada. 92 min. Sep 12, 7:15 pm Scotiabank 14 Sep 14, 9:30 pm Scotiabank 8 Sep 19, 10:30 am Scotiabank 14. See listings. Rating: NNN
When Eugene (Dylan Harman), a young Toronto man with Down Syndrome who’s obsessed with rainbows, experiences a family tragedy, he runs away, convinced that if he finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, everything will be all right.
That rather contrived premise allows writer/director Paputts to let Eugene interact with a variety of lonely souls each searching for his or her own treasure. The best sequence features Julian Richings as a former punk rocker who teaches Eugene about art and women.
Paputts runs into some problems with tone as the situations get increasingly darker. But Harman’s relaxed, naturalistic performance acts like a balm, and Christine Bougie’s original music adds a touch of magic to the proceedings.
