Tove Jansson’s coming-of-age classic gets a suitably tranquil yet luminous adaptation, backed by a quietly formidable performance from Glenn Close.
Sometime last century, six-year-old Sophia is taken by her stoic father to a small island off the south of Finland, where they spend a peaceful midsummer with his mother in tow. All three are shaken by grief, with Sophia’s mother recently dead – but as time passes, Sophia grows to appreciate the gentle, endless wonders of the world around them.
Adapting Jansson’s best-loved non-Moomin work, director Charlie McDowell (The One I Love and son of Malcolm McDowell) wisely avoids adding plot to its loose series of episodes: instead, Jansson’s text, the actors’ skill, and Finland’s unforceful beauty all build up a similarly immersive but unsentimental picture.
Glenn Close shines as the grandmother, suggesting depths of feeling and experience with the smallest gestures.
