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Last week, I reviewed two films, Belfast and Death on the Nile. Tina enjoyed The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths — all the better because it’s the first in a series of books featuring Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist.

The official start of summer feels like a good time to review Summerland, although the title has little to do with the season.

Alice Lamb specializes in mythology and folklore. She requires a quiet life for research and writing and gets it in a cottage near the sea in Kent. That life is shattered when she’s required to take in young Frank, an evacuee from the London Blitz.

In spite of her resistance to him, Frank proves to be an interesting and interested companion. Alice explains to him that The Summerland is a pagan idea about the afterlife lurking all around us, just out of view.

Gemma Arterton (who I really liked in another WWII film — Their Finest) played Alice Lamb with splendid grumpiness that somehow didn’t turn annoying. For the same reason, I enjoyed the performance of Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley from Downton Abbey) as the older Alice.

This is a quiet and reflective film with beautiful seascapes and charming interiors. Summerland was filmed on location in East Sussex and Kent, including the Chatham Historic Dockyard — I occasionally recognize scenes shot there, but not this time.

We watched Summerland streaming on Netflix. It’s also available on DVD. Have you seen Summerland? What did you think?