Put a bird in it: ‘The Penguin Lessons' feels familiar

Boston Globe

25-03-2025

In 'My Penguin Friend,' a Brazilian man finds a penguin covered in oil due to a tanker spill, and rescues it. The bird starts following him around. The man warms to the penguin, and it helps him process the death of his son. Under the guise of a family-friendly feature, the filmmakers snuck in an environmental message. Footage of the real penguin and the man who loved it played over the end credits.
'The Penguin Lessons' follows a very similar plot, except the protagonist is British and he's mourning the loss of his daughter. There's a message tucked in here as well, but it's harder to swallow.
Advertisement
I had the same problems with tonal shifts in both films, though 'My Penguin Friend' does a much better job at handling them. After seeing this film, I realize I was too hard on its predecessor.
Baba/Richard the penguins as Juan Salvador and Steve Coogan in "The Penguin Lessons."
Lucia Faraig Ferrando/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
In 'The Penguin Lessons,' Tom Michell (Coogan) is a sarcastic Brit who teaches high school English in South American countries. (The real Michell wrote the 2016 novel that inspired this film.) Arriving in Argentina at a private school in 1976, his assignment is to whip a class full of failing misfits into shape.
The jaded Michell could care less about the work, as he's still wounded by the death of his teenaged daughter. However, he springs to the defense of a bullied kid, Diego (David Herrero). Almost out of spite, Michell teaches his students poetry that Headmaster Buckle (Jonathan Pryce) thinks is incendiary and dangerous, which adds a bit of 'Dead Poets Society' to the proceedings.
Advertisement
When the 1976 military coup d'etat closes the school for a week, Michell travels to Punta del Este, Uruguay with fellow teacher, Tapio (Björn Gustafsson).
He tags along even though a potentially debauched trip such as this one is not his speed.
Upon arrival at a dance club, the duo meets Carina (Mica Breque), who takes an interest in the dour English teacher.
Uruguay is also where we meet the penguin soon to be christened Juan Salvador (played by two penguins, Baba and Richard). Michell helps Carina rescue him, but his intentions are far from noble. He's hoping this good deed will lead to better deeds with Carina. Unfortunately, she's not only married, but she has a sudden attack of morality and leaves before breaking her vows.
Steve Coogan, left, and Mica Breque in "The Penguin Lessons."
Andrea Resmini/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
'I didn't get any sex,' laments Michell. 'All I got was a penguin.' And that penguin has taken an intense liking to him. Despite numerous attempts to desert Juan Salvador, including flinging him back into the ocean and offering him to a Uruguay customs officer, Michell always ends up getting the bird.
Back in Argentina, this budding friendship has its perks. The students start listening to their teacher once he bribes them with feeding duties. And there are several funny scenes where people tell their problems to Juan Salvador as if he were some kind of fine feathered Sigmund Freud. In response, he looks at his confessors with a judgmental eye.
These moments are fine and cute, even if director Peter Cattaneo ('The Full Monty') hasn't cracked the code on how to make a penguin visually interesting. But 'The Penguin Lessons' severely falters when it deals with the dangers of military occupation. It's hard to watch a serious subplot involving people being 'disappeared' by the government juxtaposed with scenes of cutesy penguin mayhem and classroom hijinks.
Advertisement
Jonathan Pryce, left, and Steve Coogan in "The Penguin Lessons."
Lucia Faraig Ferrando/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Early in the film, Michell befriends his snarky maid, Maria (Vivian El Jaber), and her outspoken granddaughter, Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio). Maria fears her granddaughter's protests against the regime will get her in trouble. Sure enough, Sofia is snatched off the street by sinister men in broad daylight, a crime observed by several people, including Michell.
With her worst fears realized, Maria tries everything to discover Sofia's whereabouts. El Jaber is excellent in these scenes as well as in her comic moments. But the screenplay by Jeff Pope uses Maria's misfortune and Juan Salvador's loyalty as catalysts for restoring Michell's sense of empathy, which feels unbalanced. Also, a scene where Michell confronts the men who snatched Sofia leans perilously close to a white-savior narrative.
Adding to my sense of ickiness is the film's last scene, which ties up Juan Salvador's and Maria's separate plot threads. More time is devoted to the penguin than to the people whose lives have been forever changed. Sofia's fate is treated almost as an afterthought, as if the filmmakers didn't want to harsh the mellow feeling 'The Penguin Lessons' uneasily tried to generate.
★★
THE PENGUIN LESSONS
Directed by Peter Cattaneo. Written by Jeff Pope, based on the memoir by Tom Michell. Starring Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce, Vivian El Jaber, Alfonsina Carrocio, David Herrero, Mica Breque. At AMC Boston Common, Dedham Community Theatre, suburbs 110 min. PG-13 (a few F-words, a penguin throwing shade)
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.