Run time: 95 mins

A gentle and contemplative family drama, The Summer Book captures the quiet rhythms of grief, memory and connection through a simple summer spent together.

On a remote Finnish island, young Sophia (Emily Matthews) spends the summer with her grandmother (Glenn Close) and father (Anders Daniel Lie) at their family cottage. While they explore the landscape and share stories from the past, an unspoken sadness remains following the death of Sophia’s mother. Rather than addressing their loss directly, the family finds comfort in everyday routines, small discoveries and the natural world around them. Their days unfold through conversations, minor disagreements and moments of curiosity, creating a portrait of a family learning to exist alongside absence.

Adapted from Tove Jansson’s celebrated novel, Charlie McDowell’s film embraces an understated approach, finding emotion in conversations about memories, traditions and changing seasons rather than dramatic revelations. Close brings warmth and subtle humour to the grandmother, while Matthews gives Sophia a natural curiosity and sensitivity. Their relationship develops through shared experiences, observations and comfortable silences.

Patient and beautifully observed, this is a thoughtful portrait of family life and the ways people navigate change, finding meaning in ordinary moments rather than grand gestures.