In this gracious and textured new film from director Louise Archambault, we are introduced to the bucolic life of three elderly hermits living deep in the woods of Quebec. Charlie (Gilbert Sicotte), Tom (Rémy Girard) and Ted (Kenneth Welsh) live apart from others by choice and have for some time, supported through supply runs by a sympathetic and circumspect local innkeeper. But the trio’s wilderness idyll is fractured when a series of seemingly random events bring two women into their midst, the presence of whom means the past and the present must meet. With its luscious photography and measured pace, Archambault has created a slow burn of a story about aging, love, regret, nature and memory, with a measure of carpe diem. Starring the crème de la crème of Canadian actors, And The Birds Rained Down explores vital and meaningful themes in a gentle and powerful way.

Writer/director Louise Archambault is expected to attend on January 4 and 5.