Finns are delightful people. One of the most curious aspects of Finnish culture is the fact that they don’t tell people who are close to them, “I love you.” They simply expect their close one to understand that there’s a deep sense of action through the Finns’ being and presence. I know this to be the case, as I dated a Finnish girl from 2010 to 2012. Finns don’t generally explore their feelings through verbal expressions. As you might imagine, beyond being unfathomably strange to the rest of the Western world, it would also make for a great limiter on how an actor cast as Finn emotes. Such a scenario unfolds in director Charlie McDowell’s The Summer Book, adapted by Robert Jones from the 1972 classic novel by the Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson.
A grandmother and granddaughter spend a summer vacation at their cottage on a remote island off the coast of Finland. There, they will spend the entire summer not exploring the gaping hole in their lives left by the death of Sophia’s (Emily Matthews) mother. Here we have Sophia, her grandmother (Glenn Close), and her father (Anders Daniel Lie). They are doing their best to have a good time this particular summer. Looking forward to the moment when Grandmother’s friend Eriksson (Ingvar Sigurdsson) arrives with the fireworks for Midsummer. This will be the exclamation point that otherwise punctuates a quiet summer wherein Grandmother and Sophia will discuss virtually everything about the natural environment of the island. However, next to no words will be used to discuss Sophie’s mother’s death.
Glenn Close and Emily Matthews in The Summer Book (2025). Courtesy of Music Box Films.
“… A Finnish grandmother and granddaughter spend summer vacation at their cottage …”
The Summer Book is a sweet, meditative film. Here we have Close’s Grandmother spinning gentle Finnish folk wisdom and delightful memories of times gone by. One of my favorite scenes is definitely the one wherein Grandmother tells Sophie of her great-grandmother. She was a superstitious woman. So superstitious, if you coughed three times in her presence, you would be compelled to drink one of her homemade brews to heal that cough, lest you fall ill. Another wondrous scene is when we learn Sophia’s Grandmother helped bring Girl Scouts to Finland. As they lay in the tent, her Grandmother, trying to remember what it is to sleep in a tent, recounts a brief history of scouting. Such a delightful scene.
Going off the evidence presented, Finns are given to deeply contemplative conversations. They also excel at being quiet and simply existing in moments of time. They speak in terms of likes and dislikes. When one combines these elements together, one sees what McDowell and Jones seek to highlight: a family much like our own, but unique in its approach to emotions.
The Summer Book is a wholesome meditation on the life cycle. If you’re in the market for a film with low stakes that isn’t going to throw you on an emotional roller coaster, this is the film for you. A contemplative slice of life, this familial drama is a quiet celebration of grandparents. I would seek it out, wherever it may be streaming.
"…a wholesome meditation of the life cycle."
