The Penguin Lessons (2025)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: When we first meet Tom Michel (Steve Coogan) in 'The Penguin Lessons,' he's a man who keeps his head down like most of us and begrudgingly accepts the injustices of the world around him. Arriving in Argentina to teach English at a school for boys during the CIA-sponsored coup of 1976, he turns a blind eye to the political bullying that takes place in his class, and even to the kidnapping of his young maid (Alfonsina Carrocio) who was passionately protesting against the new fascist regime.
  
  Things start to change however when, on a short trip to Uruguay to escape the troubles, he rescues a penguin washed-up in an oil spill, as thereafter Jeff Pope's script engineers an arc about learning to stand up and do what's right even when it's not the "done thing." Michel's initial plan is to get rid of the penguin any way he can, but eventually he decides to keep it and care for it, and even use it to keep his class focused; providing safety for the penguin, and a companion for him. In the end, he even applies this bold new attitude to pressure his headteacher (Jonathan Pryce) and a fascist himself to negotiate the return of the maid.
  
  This makes for an emotionally resonant and thematically impactful arc, and one which is only emphasised by the knowledge it's based on a true story. But on top of that, the penguin also provides fruit for lots of great comedy. Michel trying to palm it off, smuggle it through immigration, and then hide it in his room are all hilarious moments, and Steve Coogan is the perfect dead-pan lead to bring all of that to life.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Some of Federico Jusid's score is a little schmaltzy and intrusive.
  
  VERDICT: 'The Penguin Lessons,' uses this fascinating and hilarious true story to engineer an impactful arc about learning to stand up for what's right.

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