''Rare Birds'' is a 2001 Canadian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. It was directed by

Sturla Gunnarsson Sturla Gunnarsson (born August 30, 1951) is an Icelandic-Canadian film and television director and producer. Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavík in 1951. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents when he was seven years old. As he ...

and written by

Edward Riche Edward Riche (born October 24, 1961) is a Canadian writer. He lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Background Riche was born in Botwood, Newfoundland. For three years he attended Memorial University, and then transferred to Concordia ...

based on his novel. The film features spectacular scenery from

Cape Spear Cape Spear (french: Cap d'Espoir) is a headland located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland near St. John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At a longitude of 52°37'W, it is the easternmost point in Canada and North ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It also features music by

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

and characteristic Canadian Maritime musicians such as

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian fiddler, singer and songwriter from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at the Juno A ...

Plot

Dave (Hurt) has had some bad luck recently. His wife (McCarthy) lives in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, his

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, the

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

is not doing good business. Phonse (Jones) helps Dave by making up a story about a rare bird (Tasker's Sulphureous) sighting which begins to help Dave's business. Phonse has been working on a prototype Recreational Submarine Vehicle (RSV) and is concerned that the Winnebago company is conducting industrial espionage and trying to steal his plans. Phonse also finds ten

kilos Kilo is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand (103). It is used in the International System of Units, where it has the symbol k, in lowercase. The prefix ''kilo'' is derived from the Greek word () ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

and tries to get rid of it with the help of Dave. Dave falls in love with Alice (Parker), Phonse's sister-in-law, a girl from Gull Tickle. Phonse blows up his RSV. Claire asks Dave for a divorce. Alice goes off to college. Dave finds someone to manage the restaurant and he is seen chasing Alice's taxi.

Cast

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

... as Dave * Andy Jones ... as Phonse *

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

... as Alice (a girl from Gull Tickle) * Vicky Hynes ... as Deb (another girl from Gull Tickle) *

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

... as Claire

External links

* *
Edward Riche
2001 films English-language Canadian films Canadian comedy-drama films 2001 comedy-drama films Films based on Canadian novels Films directed by Sturla Gunnarsson Films set in Newfoundland and Labrador 2001 comedy films 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films English-language comedy-drama films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub