A touching war drama about the endurance of love in trying times, Gemma Arterton stars in Summerland, a tale of compassion and womanhood.
Alice (Gemma Arterton, Vita and Virginia BFF18) is a reclusive writer, resigned to a solitary life on the seaside cliffs of Southern England while World War II rages across the channel. A workaholic who researches the natural explanations for mythical phenomena, Alice’s life is upended one day when she opens her front door and is forced to take in a young London Blitz evacuee named Frank. Despite initially resolving to get rid of the boy, it's not long before Alice realises that they have more in common in their pasts than she had assumed. Inevitably a bond grows between the pair and Frank rekindles long suppressed feelings of affection in Alice.
Alternating between the 1970s, 1940s and 1920s, and featuring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, two time Oscar nominee Sir Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton as the older Alice, gorgeously shot Summerland is a sentimental tale from debut director Jessica Swale which delivers an uplifting story about the power of love and friendship.