The Summer Book (2024–2025): Cast, Plot, Trailer, Release Date & Streaming Info – A Tender, Timeless Adaptation Blossoms on Screen

The Summer Book (2024–2025): A Tender, Timeless Adaptation Comes to the Screen

Few stories capture the quiet beauty of life, love, and loss like Tove Jansson’s beloved 1972 novel, The Summer Book. Now, more than fifty years later, the intimate tale has been brought to the screen with grace and subtlety in the 2024 drama film adaptation, The Summer Book, directed by Charlie McDowell and starring the legendary Glenn Close.

Following its festival premiere, the film has garnered praise for its emotional restraint, luminous performances, and cinematic reflection of Jansson’s minimalist prose. Now, it’s preparing for its wide theatrical release—inviting a global audience into its world of summer, solitude, and the slow rhythms of healing.

🌿 A Story of Seasons, Grief, and Connection

Set on a remote island in the Gulf of Finland, The Summer Book follows the relationship between an aging Grandmother (Glenn Close) and her spirited six-year-old granddaughter Sophia (Emily Matthews) as they spend a summer together following the death of Sophia’s mother.

The two navigate grief in very different ways—Sophia with bursts of curiosity, stubbornness, and wonder; Grandmother with a quiet, contemplative strength. Through simple daily rituals, deep conversations, and moments of silence under the Nordic sun, the pair form a profound bond that speaks to both the generational gap and the unspoken closeness between them.

🎬 Behind the Film

Directed by Charlie McDowell, with a screenplay by Robert Jones, the film is a co-production between the United Kingdom, United States, and Finland, paying homage to the cross-cultural appreciation of Jansson’s work.

The film features:

• Glenn Close as Grandmother – in a role filled with nuance and quiet wisdom

• Emily Matthews as Sophia – delivering a breakout performance full of natural charm

• Anders Danielsen Lie as the Father – navigating loss in his own subdued way

• Ingvar Sigurdsson, Pekka Strang, and Sophia Heikkilä round out the supporting cast

With breathtaking cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen and a gentle, evocative score by Hania Rani, the film fully immerses viewers in the sights and sounds of island life—sunlight through birch trees, crashing waves, and the rustle of wind through tall grass.

📅 Release Timeline

• World Premiere: October 12, 2024 – BFI London Film Festival

• North American Premiere: October 27, 2024 – AFI Fest, Hollywood

• Finland Theatrical Release: January 31, 2025 – Opened at #1 at the Finnish box office

• United States Release: September 19, 2025

Following a successful run in Finland, where it surpassed 100,000 ticket sales by March, the film is now poised to connect with North American audiences this fall.

🏆 Recognition

The Summer Book is currently one of 15 films shortlisted from nearly 1,800 entries for the prestigious Tiantan Award at the Beijing International Film Festival, further solidifying its standing as a quiet but powerful cinematic achievement.

✨ A Film for Reflective Hearts

Much like the novel it’s based on, The Summer Book isn’t driven by plot or spectacle—it’s a deeply human story about life in its smallest, most sacred moments. It’s for viewers who appreciate stillness, dialogue, and character. It’s a meditation on aging, memory, nature, and the things we carry—and let go of—through time.

Whether you’ve read the book or are discovering the story for the first time, The Summer Book is a rare film that speaks softly, yet leaves a lasting echo.

Coming to U.S. theaters September 19, 2025.

Don’t miss this cinematic celebration of one of literature’s most quietly profound stories.