I love penguins, so the fact that there is a penguin in this film is the main draw for me. Based on Tom Michell’s memoir of the same name, it recounts his tale as an English teacher (played by Steve Coogan) who takes a job at a posh all-boys boarding school in Argentina just as a military coup is beginning in the mid-1970s. From the moment Tom sets foot in the school, it’s clear that there’s political unrest. Armed guards meet him at the entrance, weapons ready, ensuring he’s not a threat. Like many expats in politically unstable countries like Argentina, they tend to lead a fairly sheltered life, even while unsettling events unfold around them. That is the case with Tom, his Finnish colleague (Björn Gustafsson) and a fellow Englishman who’s the school’s stuffy headmaster (Jonathan Pryce).

When students leave the school as the coup was happening, Tom travels to Uruguay in search of a fun distraction. It’s there that he encounters the penguin while walking on a beach with a beautiful woman he met at a bar. A group of Magellan penguins caught in an oil slick and washed ashore, but only one of them survived. Tom takes the bird to his hotel and cleans it up in order to impress her. However, once she’s gone, he looks for ways to ditch the bird. Penguins are known for their lack of fear of humans, and this one is determined to stick around, no matter what.

The movie really picks up whenever the penguin is around, and the interaction between Tom and this adorable bird is fun to watch. While he’s initially annoyed by the aquatic, flightless seabird, it’s no surprise that Tom grows to love it. The bird ends up helping Tom in his relations with others, such as his feisty caretaker (Vivian El Jaber) and her granddaughter Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio). Together they name the penguin Juan Salvador, inspired by the 1970 fable novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Animals have therapeutic powers, and even Björn’s character confides in Juan about his heartache over a lost love. Juan also becomes quite popular in Tom’s class, as the students start to focus on him, and the bird serves as a great incentive to encourage them to engage in class.

The backdrop of a military dictatorship injects a layer of tension into what might seem like a lighthearted tale of a human-and-animal friendship. There’s an intense moment when someone gets kidnapped in plain sight, and Tom even has a close encounter with the police. However, these dramatic events don’t overshadow the main focus of the narrative, which is Tom’s journey of self-discovery alongside the penguin. This journey of self-reflection allows him to confront his past grief and empowers him to advocate for others.

Coogan can play the cynical, sarcastic bloke in his sleep. He doesn’t really stray too far from his usual roles here,  but he manages to surprise me in some of the emotionally-charged scenes. He comes off curmudgeonly and unlikable, but grows to be a nicer person the more time he spends with the penguin and discovers a fresh enthusiasm for life along the way.

The Penguin Lessons is directed by Peter Cattaneo and written by Jeff Pope, who collaborated with Coogan in the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Philomena. The pacing is solid, able to keep my attention for nearly two hours. I haven’t read the memoir, but Pope’s script tackles some serious political issues and contrasts the lives of the privileged students with those less fortunate living outside the school. The movie illustrates how even the tiniest gestures of kindness can have a significant impact. It also emphasizes the need to safeguard wildlife and the environment, but it does so in an organic and non-lecturing manner.

I’m a sucker for movies featuring real animals (and no, I don’t mean photorealistic-animated ones like The Lion King which I find really creepy), so I find this one delightful and entertaining. Filmed on location in Spain instead of Argentina, the scenery shot by DP Xavi Giménez is quite beautiful, though I really can’t take my eyes off the adorable penguin.

Have you seen The Penguin Lessons? I’d love to hear your thoughts!