Quirky little movie with more heart than expected.
Tom Michell is a curmudgeonly English teacher in the 1970s, moving to Argentina for work at a school. But when he rescues a penguin on the beach, he’s going to have his eyes opened.
The Penguin Lessons is a film based off true events, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) and written by Jeff Pope (Philomena and Stan & Ollie). Based off the memoirs and video footage of Tom Michell, the story follows Tom on an unorthodox emotional adventure in an Argentina gripped in a military coup. Starring the ever delightful Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce, Vivian El Jaber, and Alfonsina Carrocio.
Really, I just wanted to watch a nice film (and not one about angry people killing other people) this week, and that’s what I got. But the trailer suggests a purely comedic movie with a penguin. It is a little more than that.
If you are looking for the penguin exclusively, you need to do some homework first; the film starts at – and maintains – a gentle pace. Steve Coogan plays Tom, a bedraggled, cynical British teacher arriving in Argentina in 1976. The country is gripped in what would later be known as the Argentine “Dirty War”; a military coup that saw thousands of people “disappeared” in unmarked cars, among other atrocities. This would go on for decades, and the movie is a brief slice of that time.
We follow Tom, the most atypical Brit in a foreign country as one might expect. Distant, brittle, and sticking to himself. There’s even a moment of tension where he is briefly berated by locals for his lack of understanding and appreciation. But the stripes are about to change. A woman of his affections convinces him to rescue a penguin, then leaves it with him.
What follows is a story of two halves: Coogan trying to deal with this penguin that has adopted him, and the frosty surroundings. The little penguin is delightful (and the audience certainly thought so, too) as they pad around ill-fitting interiors of hotels and schools. Coogan is the correct casting for this role. Reluctant, bored, and exasperated, but perhaps intrigued. It is hard to imagine anyone else carrying off the line “The penguin is not a communist” at gun point as flatly as he.
This weird relationship with the diminutive creature sparks hope and optimism in the emotionally crushed locals. Tom finds himself as a lightning rod for comfort and support that others desperately need.
So, yes, it is quite an emotional and heartfelt film. Especially when the real world issues start to close in around Tom. I knew nothing about the Dirty War, which made watching The Penguin Lessons quite educational and eye-opening. Tom, who like a lot of us, tends to stick his head in the sand, becomes very relatable when confronted by the plight of others. Moments of bravery can be small, personal affairs. Moments of danger are palpable and tense without exaggeration.
But there is a lot of heart and laughs as well. One particularly good moment was Tom trying to get the penguin through customs, as you might imagine. All of the performances are wonderfully downplayed and subtle. The penguin does steal the show, but it doesn’t make the rest of the movie immaterial.
At times the film does feel like it has two halves, and it takes a bit of process before its intent crystalizes. There was also a moment of anachronism, which stood out. Michell, while teaching his class of unruly boys, talks about freedom. But while he does so, he raises a fist and says in a guttural voice “Freedom!” I’m… not convinced that this would have transpired twenty years before the film Braveheart?
Overall, though, it was a pleasant watch. Far more emotional than I expected it to be; it isn’t just a silly film with Coogan being followed by a penguin. As the title suggests, expect to maybe learn a little something.
