Last night we attended the opening of Penguin Lessons at the Windsor Cinema and we glad we did. This touching story is about a relationship between a rescued penguin and Tom Michell played by Steve Coogan.
On the surface, it sounds like a simple plot, but it works well on several levels. The movie is based on a memoir by Tom Michell, who took up an English teaching position in a prestigious private boy’s school in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It’s 1976 and Argentina is in the grip of economic turmoil and civil unrest. Shortly into Tom Michell’s posting, there is a military coup, the beginning of what became seven years of terror. The school is temporally shut down allowing Tom Michell to take leave for a few days in neighbouring Uruguay.
While walking along a beach, Tom finds a penguin stuck in an oil slick. He rescues the poor bird and somehow manages to smuggle it back to the school. The film now traces how a penguin deeply touches the lives of not only Tom, but the whole school including privileged students and a stuck-up pompous headmaster. All this with a backdrop of a ruthless military dictatorship.
Steve Coogan puts in an excellent performance playing the Tom Michell character. Steve’s understated comic genius comes through without in any way downplaying the seriousness of Argentina’s horrible plight. He plays a flawed rather cynical character with sensitivity.
The supporting actors are also impressive, including Johnathon Pryce, Michaela Bresque, Vivian El Jaber, Bjorn Gustafsson and David Herrero.
Overall, Penguin Lessons ticks a lot of boxes with its light humour, moments of sadness and sensitivity, a loveable penguin and a history lesson in Argentina’s tumultuous past. Along with excellent cinematography by Xavi Gimenz, Penguin
Lessons is well worth seeing.
Penguin Lessons opens 17th April at Luna Palace Cinemas.