The Penguin Lessons (#666)


It is hard to believe that I saw two movies starring penguins less than a year apart, and both were better than most films I've seen, and both were inspired by true stories. The first was My Penguin Friend, and it was simple and poignant and funny and gentle. The one I saw today, THE PENGUIN LESSONS, was political and funny with far less charm, but I liked it, although not as much as its predecessor. In both movies, the penguin was the ultimate star. They seem to be natural born actors. Lessons is the story of an Englishman hired to teach English in an Argentine prep school for the wealthy in a suburb of Buenos Aires. The country is in the midst of revolution, under military rule and there is unrest. On vacation in another South American country with a fellow teacher, he meets a girl and, while walking on the beach with her, they come across a penguin in distress covered with oil and she persuades him to rescue the penguin and clean it off. Anticipating a romance, he agrees, but she leaves him, confessing that she is married and feels too guilty to stay with him. Too many things happen when he takes the penguin back to the school and allows it to live with him and participate in his classes, all the time trying to get rid of the penguin. Excellent performances by all the cast, especially the English teacher played by Steve Coogan, whom I researched and learned I had seen him in many films, notably as Stan Laurel in Ollie and Stan. Another reliable actor, Johnathan Pryce, ably played the role of the headmaster. There was no rating by audiences, but 81% of critics gave it a thumb up, as do I.      

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