Story

In 1976 Buenos Aires, Argentina, against a backdrop of a military coup, Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) arrives at St George’s school to take up a position as English teacher. Tom has travelled to South America to escape the tragic events of 17 years previously, when his 13-year-old daughter lost her life after being hit by a drunk driver. Tom has been unable to get over his daughter’s death and his subsequent marriage break-up. Tom finds the school oppressive and elitist, so he decides to travel to Uruguay for a weekend away.

While there, Tom meets a woman in a nightclub with whom he takes an evening stroll along the beach. They come across a terrible scene of dead penguins killed by an oil spill. Amazingly, they find a small penguin alive and rescue it, against Tom’s better judgment. They name the penguin Juan Salvador, and it transforms Tom’s life.

Tom takes Juan into his English lessons, much to the delight of the boys and against school policy. Ultimately, Juan also has a transformative effect on the boys, who love having Juan in the classroom.

Themes

Grief and healing; Argentina military coup

Violence

The Penguin Lessons has some violence. For example:

• A bomb goes off, and there’s a sudden, loud explosion in the distance.
• Armed guards stand at the school gates.
• Soldiers with armed rifles on the streets.
• Tom gets knocked over accidentally by Maria, the cleaning lady.
• The boys leave a drawing pin on Tom’s chair, which he sits on. He yells, and the boys all laugh.
• Juan bites Tom when he’s trying to wash him.
• Tom throws Juan into the sea to get him to go away.
• The boys bully a boy called Diego. They remove his tie and tie his hands to a chair.
• Maria’s granddaughter, Sofia, is abducted off the street by 2 men who physically drag her screaming into a car.
• Tom approaches the man who has abducted Sofia, but the man threatens Tom and orders him to leave immediately. Tom is later arrested. When he’s allowed to leave, his face is covered in bruises.
• A main character dies.

Sexual references

The Penguin Lessons has some sexual references. For example:

• Tom says he helped to rescue Juan to impress the woman he met, hoping to have sex with her. The woman had gone out for ‘some fun’ but found she couldn’t go through with it because she’s married.
• Tom talks with his colleague about why his wife left him. He says that maybe the other man had a bigger penis.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

The Penguin Lessons shows some use of substances. For example, there’s drinking at events, in clubs, at dinner and at home.

Nudity and sexual activity

The Penguin Lessons has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Tom and the woman kiss.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in The Penguin Lessons: Pepsi Cola.

Coarse language

The Penguin Lessons has some coarse language and name-calling.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Penguin Lessons is based on a true story and a book of the same title, during an Argentinian military coup, during which 30,000 people disappeared. The movie deals with heavy themes of grief and despair but also the delightfully transformative and healing effect of life with a penguin.

Because of its themes, The Penguin Lessons is best suited to viewers aged 14 years and older.

These are the main messages from The Penguin Lessons:

• True friendship means being able to see beyond people’s superficial faults.
• It’s good to open up to others about your feelings.

Values in The Penguin Lessons that you could reinforce with your children include:

• showing empathy
• caring for nature and the environment
• standing up for what you believe in
• forgiving yourself
• learning to deal with grief
• having the courage of your convictions.

The Penguin Lessons could also give you the chance to talk about real-life questions to do with courage. For example, Tom is initially reserved and cowardly, watching on as Sofia is being abducted. He knows that if he tries to help, he’ll be arrested too. Does this excuse him for doing nothing? Later he comes to regret his decision and tries to intervene in her release, but should he have tried harder from the start?