Alan in Belfast: The Summer Book – grief(s) observed and anticipated (Queens Film Theatre from 7 August)

Fans of Tove Jansson will be aware that her writing extends beyond the Moonins. Her novel The Summer Book has been adapted into a film by Robert Jones and directed by Charlie McDowell.

Three surviving generations of a family have decamped to a wooden holiday hut on the shore of a Finnish island. They are mourning. A daughter (Sophia played by Emily Matthews) grieving for her mum. A recently widowed husband and father (Anders Danielsen Lie) throwing himself into his work as an illustrator. A grandmother (hunched-over fragile Glenn Close with dentures) is also coming to terms with her memories slipping away.

The tranquillity provides space to grieve. But the inner pain each person is experiencing is almost deafening in the silence. A gentle sepia tone places the action in the 1970s. Red clothing contrasts with the beige rocks and dark seaweed. Knitted cardigans add cosiness. When the father sits in front of a broken weathervane, it’s as if an arrow has pierced his heart. We learn that even the moss can die.

Sophia longs to rediscover some semblance of security through the adults. Her grandmother wants to grasp hold of important moments from the past. The father is struggling to process his feelings and support the emotional needs of his daughter. While the story is framed around Matthews’ Sophia, Close’s masterful portrayal of an increasingly frail grandmother provides the most stunning moments. The island idyll is their first opportunity to reconnect with each other.

It’s a gentle film – perhaps too gentle – with the landscape given long sequences to speak without the interference of characters’ dialogue (which is all in English rather than Finnish … even a wooden sign on a neighbouring island is rendered in English).

Grief is observed. Further types of loss are anticipated. But there’s also healing. Though if they keep watering that poplar tree with salt water, they’ll be holding a funeral for it too.

The Summer Book honours the original text though the process of condensing the story into 90 minutes takes away some of the thrills and spills. Instead, we watch great acting matched by superb cinematography (Sturla Brandth Grøvlen) and a score that supports but never overwhelms (Hania Rani). It’s being screened at Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 7 August.