Have you ever made a friend that changed your life completely, and it wasn’t something you ever expected? Sometimes this friendship is with another person, sometimes it’s with a pet and sometimes, it’s from a chance encounter with a penguin on a beach. The Penguin Lessons tells the story of a real life friendship of the last and how it had rippling effects through a small community in Argentina.
When Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) accepts the position to teach English at a private boy school in Argentina in the 1970’s he doesn’t know just all that he’s signed up for. With students who refuse to listen, classes constantly cancelled due to political unrest and protentional war, that may be the least of the issues he’s about to face. On a trip with another professor, and a chanced encounter with a lady at a bar, they stumble upon a penguin washed up on the shore covered in oil from a spill. Taking the penguin back to his hotel room, they save it’s life, and after several attempts to get rid of the penguin, Tom’s life may be changed for good now too.
Once the penguin has attached itself to Tom, it becomes almost like his shadow following him around his quarters and even into the classroom. While it seems like an unlikely friendship, the penguin is a great tool to teach his unruly students and capture their attention. Patience, needs vs desires and acceptance of differences are just the beginning of the lessons that Tom, his students and everyone else in his circle get from the chance encounter with a penguin.
The movie winds Tom and his penguin friend’s story through the political unrest that was happening around them in Argentina as well as the political fall outs post World War II. And while this turmoil may be overwhelming, it’s the simple distractions and lessons that the unlikely friendship brings to the situation. It’s a nuanced reminder that a changed perspective can effect and change almost every aspect of your life.
The journey of understanding different stories, finding ones own life and self in the midst of turmoil and all of the other conflicts around you are all in the midst of the sweet story that unfold on the screen. While the political uprisings and conflicts happen around you, there are still simple lessons that can be learned from the smallest of creatures. And with that, we can find things in common with people we may not usually.
What’s remarkable about The Penguin Lessons is the story of the unlikely friendship is simple and sweet even in the darkest of moments. It may have you questioning who exactly saved who in the friendship, and what other lessons could be learned if you simple slow down and start listening to the lessons that may not be in a book.
The Penguin Lessons is now playing in theaters.
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About The Penguin Lessons
Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down.