The Summer Book

Nine-year-old Sophia and her family spend every summer on an island in the Gulf of Finland. But this year is different: Sophia’s mother is dead. Her father grieves by burying himself in his work. And so it’s her grandmother who explores with her on the craggy island dotted with moss cushions. They discover the secrets of bizarre pine forests, philosophise about god, the love of cats, and earthworms, celebrate the summer solstice, and carve bark boats that they sail on the glittering water. While Sophia – at times full of curiosity, at times rebellious – soaks up every moment, her grandmother can feel the exhaustion of old age taking over. She won’t always be able to be there for her granddaughter. Charles McDowell’s film is loosely based on the novel $The Summer Book” by the Swedish-Finnish author and creator of the Moomins, Tove Jansson. Understated and in vibrant images, it captures a fleeting island summer and with it, the circle of life and death.