Parents' Guide to The Penguin Lessons

Coogan may not seem like the obvious choice for a heartwarming tale of a man's life transformed by an adopted penguin, but neither is Argentina's 1976 political coup the obvious backdrop. The mixture of the two in The Penguin Lessons works to varying degrees, Coogan's performance emerging as infinitely more successful. The actor's deadpan irony is well-suited to 50-something teacher Michell, who has somewhat lost interest in the world around him and tends to turn to a bottle of gin and a sarcastic comment in times of trouble. The original memoir featured the character in his 20s, but with age comes more potential for enlightenment, and Coogan pulls off a touching transformation from loner to man of warmth and purpose. The political landscape, on the other hand, is very much in the background, even as a worker from the school is kidnapped off the streets. There's a cold, removed outlook on the unrest, which is no doubt intended to reflect the school's "neutral" policy, but it ends up in danger of minimizing what was a violent time in the country's history. Vivian El Jaber gives a strong performance as a caretaker who's as enamored by penguin Juan Salvador as the rest of the staff—headmaster Jonathan Pryce and fellow teacher Björn Gustafsson using the bird for charming free counseling sessions on the terrace. It's unsurprising that there are plenty of funny moments, including Coogan's attempts to communicate with the penguin in Spanish when his English is ignored. What's unexpected is how moving the story is, and real-life footage of the penguin at the end is guaranteed to tug on the heartstrings.