Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie has expressed his enjoyment of playing quiet, understated characters, as he does in his latest film, The Summer Book.
The 47-year-old, a frequent collaborator of Oscar-winning director Joachim Trier, plays a grieving father in the adaptation of Tove Jansson’s 1972 novel of the same name. The Finnish author and illustrator is best known as the creator of the beloved children’s series The Moomins.
Film Adaptation and Cast
Directed by Charlie McDowell, The Summer Book follows an intergenerational family as they spend a transformative summer at their rustic cabin on a remote, unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. Starring Finnish nine-year-old Emily Matthews in her debut role as Sophia, Oscar nominee Glenn Close as her wise grandmother, and Danielsen Lie as her grieving father, the film explores themes of loss, nature, and the delicate bonds that hold a family together.
Inspiration and Silent Characters
Jansson’s adult novel was inspired by more than 30 summers spent on the island of Klovharun in Finland and is regarded as a classic of Nordic literature.
“I’ve always been interested in playing silent characters because you kind of get to the essence of what acting is about,” Danielsen Lie told the Press Association. “It is about trying to convey a character without words, through mood, facial expressions and everything that surrounds you when you’re shooting.”
Working with Glenn Close
Speaking about working with Close, he said: “Glenn is a living legend and one of the greatest actresses of her generation. But when you work with her, you feel like you’re working with a great colleague. She’s very generous and brings a lot to the table for the people around her and her fellow actors.
“This was also special because, when you’re shooting on an island in a small place, you get to know each other much better. We got to spend more time together than we would have if we had been shooting in a city, I believe.
“It was a wonderful experience, shooting a movie and feeling like you were on vacation. It was just a very, very nice shoot.”
A Meditative Film
Speaking about the quiet nature of the film, The Worst Person In The World actor said: “It’s not a plot-driven film, or at least it’s not primarily about what’s being said, it’s about mood.
“The book was not easy to adapt into a feature film because it is so quiet. It’s a meditation on what it means to be in the world with another person, and that’s not easy to translate to the screen.
“This might sound like some kind of self-help message, but if you wanted to make a feature film about mindfulness, or about the importance of taking everything in, simply experiencing the world and the passage of time without any specific agenda, this is the kind of story you might tell.”
Director's Perspective
McDowell, 43, said he rediscovered Jansson’s novel during the Covid pandemic and felt compelled to make it into a film.
“During Covid, I was looking for an escape. I think everyone was trying to figure out how to get out of their house, or at least be transported somewhere else,” said the American filmmaker. “I remembered The Summer Book, reread it, and that’s when I had the thought: I need to visualise this. I need to see what this world looks like and feels like. It’s such a rich, sensory experience that it seemed made for film.”
Being an American, McDowell said he was nervous about getting the adaptation right.
“The book is so beloved, not just by readers in general, but especially in Finland,” he explained. “It’s almost like a Bible there, and I didn’t take that responsibility lightly. A lot of my nerves came from wanting to do it justice.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just someone coming in without caring about the details of the place, what it looks like, what it feels like, and how people actually lived.”
“Ultimately, I hope people in Finland feel proud of the film and love it in the way I came to love it,” he added.
The Summer Book is in UK and Irish cinemas on Friday.
