''The Divine Ryans'' is a 1999 Canadian film directed by Stephen Reynolds, written by Wayne Johnston as an adaptation of his novel, and starring

Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...

and

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical fil ...

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian.Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 62. The film tells the story of the Ryan family, who run a funeral parlour in St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

Plot

The Ryans of St John's, Newfoundland, are an old family steeped in tradition. Donald Ryan edits the local newspaper while his brothers and sisters run the funeral parlour. Early one morning, Donald's son Draper Doyle goes to the newspaper office to surprise his father with a birthday cake, only to witness something traumatic. Two days later, Donald Ryan is dead. In the ensuing weeks, Draper Doyle's sleep is plagued by nightmares, and he realises he has no memories of the time surrounding his father's death. With the help of his uncle Reg, Draper Doyle tries to come to terms with the truth about Donald Ryan, and the key to this may be Donald's lucky hockey puck.

Cast

Accolades

The film received three Genie Award nominations at the

20th Genie Awards The 20th Genie Awards were held on January 30, 2000, by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, to honour films released in 1999. The ceremony aired live on CBC Television, and a post-event highlights show aired on Radio Canada.Maria Topalov ...

in 2000, for Best Adapted Screenplay (Johnston), Best Cinematography ( Alywn Kumst) and Best Sound Editing (Alastair Gray, Donna Powell and Clive Turner)."Sunshine leads Genie nominations: Fiennes's movie followed by Felicia's Journey, The Five Senses". ''

Halifax Daily News ''The Daily News'' was a tabloid newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was published from 1974 until ceasing operations in February 2008. History ''The Daily News'' owed its existence to David Bentley, who, along with his wife Diana and Patri ...

'', December 8, 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Divine Ryans, The 1999 drama films 1999 films Canadian independent films English-language Canadian films Canadian drama films Films set in Newfoundland and Labrador Funeral homes in fiction 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films