Steve Coogan and a very good penguin star in this British heart-warmer. The film's based on the true story of...
Steve Coogan and a very good penguin star in this British heart-warmer. The film's based on the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, he discovered instead a complicated and divided nation – and a class of practically unteachable young boys. When he finds a small penguin washed up on an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside down – and the penguin becomes not only a valued friend, but also a teacher of life’s most important lessons, for Tom, the boys and many others.
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Where to watch The Penguin Lessons
78 %119 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
94 %232 reviewsAudience score rating
14+Age suitabilityChildren & Media rating
"There is a glass-half-full approach and then there is submerging reality so deeply in whimsy, sentimentality and cultural cliche that it needn’t be there at all."
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The Guardian
The Guardian"Using a distorted version of crucial historical events as a plot device that lionizes the British expat in a country that is not his own isn’t pathos, it’s objectification."
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IndieWire
IndieWire"Amusing stuff, well served by Coogan’s knack for haughty composure in the face of the absurd."
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Variety
Variety"Unexpectedly moving, its emotional manipulations fully forgivable."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"Winsome and inoffensive"
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The New York Times
The New York Times"Unfortunately, the thin story feels terribly stretched and often doesn’t make sense."
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San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle"Wants to be a thoughtful light entertainment about ideals and courage, but ends up seeming grotesquely misguided."
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RogerEbert.com
RogerEbert.comThe Penguin Lessons | Details
- Rating
- M, Coarse language
- Runtime
- 111
- Genre
- Drama, True Story & Biography
- Country of origin
- Spain, UK
