The Penguin Lessons (2024)

The Penguin Lessons was a mystery screening that my local Showcase Cinema put on. The clue that they gave was ‘They met in 97 on the hour’. Now I have absolutely no idea where they got the clue from. The plot sees Steve Coogan play Tom Michel who arrives at an Argentinian school to teach English during a period of instability in the country. He travels to Uruguay and after meeting a woman at a bar they walk along a beach and discover a penguin covered in oil from an oil slick and when he tries to get rid of it, the penguin keeps coming back to him and when he returns to the school he uses it to help teach the kids. Meanwhile he befriends a cleaner and her granddaughter who is then kidnapped and he tries to do some good with the backdrop of political turmoil ever present.

I wasn't expecting very much from this film but it won me over in a way I was not expecting. First of all Steve Coogan is very good as Tom. He comes across quite grumpy and the oddball relationship he has with the penguin helps with the charm. There is a scene where Sofia is taken and he freezes partly out of fear because he clearly wants to do good but is scared of what might happen. This leads to a lovely scene between him and Maria where he confesses that could have helped but is forgiven. Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio) connects with Tom because she reminds him of his daughter that he lost when she was hit by a drunk driver when she was 13. Vivian El Jabar is quite good as Maria because she is warm but has a stern streak where she can make you do something just by her tone. The three work well together and it's the closest the film gets to a family dynamic. Jonathan Pryce is also very good as the headmaster. He starts off somewhat of an eccentric person with rules and says ‘no pets’ but when he is told about the penguin, he performs a 180 in a surprisingly quick amount of time. Björn Gustafsson (Tapio) is a ‘friend’ of Tom’s in the story and pops up literally just walking into scenes to be a friend that Tom needs and I thought it was a small but very well performed role.

I don't mind admitting that I did get a bit teary eyed when the penguin died. It was so unexpected and the fact they held a funeral and all the students of Tom’s class as well as the headteacher and Tapio attend just as Sofia is returned to Maria. This was perhaps the closest that the film gets to sentimental schlok but I felt that the film had earned this and it wasn't over the top. It was a nice way to end the film after the penguin had died. There were two moments where Tapio and the headteacher are spilling their soles to the penguin  and it was another lovely moment which showed what impact the penguin had.

This story is based on the memoirs of Tom so its not clear how much of the memoirs have been removed from the overall story as its clear that the plot has been streamlined but it's close to 2 hours and I wasn't bored for a single moment and that is down to the story and also the performances from pretty much everyone. There isn't a weak performance at all. I really enjoyed this film because it managed to penetrate the cynical part of my brain and managed to charm me in a way that caught me off guard. I probably wouldn't have gone to see it based purely on the fact that the film’s premise but this was another example of the mystery screening gimmick working well because I am so glad that I saw this film. It made me feel good and it's been a while since I have felt really good leaving a cinema. 

WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME COOGAN???