This film is part of Rentals
Summerland
Gemma Arterton stars in acclaimed theatre director Jessica Swale’s moving Second World War drama, as a woman rediscovering her ability to love.
Director: Jessica Swale
Overview
Secluded in her picturesque countryside cottage, Alice toils away at her academic thesis on pagan myths while the rest of the world is in turmoil. The Second World War rages, yet its impact is barely felt by the solitary and prickly writer. Unmarried, she attracts the consternation of local villagers and is tormented by their children. Nursing a heartache from her past, Alice would quite like the world to leave her alone, but it has very different plans for her – in the form of Frank, an evacuee from London. Initially determined to be rid of this interloper, the guilelessness of youth soon breaks though Alice’s tough exterior. The boy opens old wounds with innocent questions about Alice’s past. Through flashbacks, we see the reason for her pain – an all-consuming love affair with the decadent Vera (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), which unfolded when both women were barely out of their teens and everything seemed possible.
Swale’s rapturous feature debut is a heartfelt rumination on the power of love, set against a beautifully-shot Kent coastline. Arterton has rarely been better as the fiercely independent Alice, coming to terms with her past and finally setting herself free for a future she could only dream about. Summerland was supported through development and production by the BFI using funds from the National Lottery.
brief moderate threatRelated
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
The Post The Post
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.
Denial Denial
Drama 2017 110 mins Director: Mick Jackson
Powerful, aggressively relevant courtroom drama restaging the trial that questioned the events of the Holocaust. Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star.
Tamara Drewe Tamara Drewe
Comedy 2010 111 mins Director: Stephen Frears
The return of beautiful journalist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) awakens destructive passions in a Dorset village.
The Escape The Escape
Drama 2018 101 mins Director: Dominic Savage
A remarkable central performance from Gemma Arterton shines through this perceptive, deeply compassionate portrait of a woman on the road to becoming herself.
Their Finest Their Finest
Comedy 2017 117 mins Director: Lone Scherfig
Gemma Arterton sparkles in this witty drama set in the world of propaganda filmmaking during WWII, from director Lone Scherfig (The Riot Club, An Education).
Farming Farming
Drama 2018 107 mins Director: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
A fostered Nigerian boy growing up in Essex loses all sense of identity and joins a racist skinhead gang. Actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Oz, Lost) directs this powerful drama based on his own, extraordinary upbringing.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.