Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, “The Penguin Lessons,” a new drama starring Steve Coogan and now playing in theatres, a British teacher has a personal and political awakening after adopting a penguin amid the political unrest of 1976 Argentina.

CAST: Steve Coogan, Björn Gustafsson, David Herrero, Jonathan Pryce, Julián Galli Guillén, Aimar Miranda. Directed by Peter Cattaneo.

REVIEW: Are penguins the most cinematic of all birds? Sure, “Chicken Run” was a giant hit and Alfred Hitchcock made avian menagerie  of “The Birds” memorable, but penguins, despite being flightless, really soar at the movies. From documentaries (“March of the Penguins) and musicals (“Happy Feet”) to comedies (Mr. Popper’s Penguins) and adventure movies (“My Penguin Friend”), their paddle-like flippers have touched almost every genre going.

Now add socio political thriller to the list.

Set in 1976, “The Penguins Lessons” sees Steve Coogan play Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a disillusioned Brit who takes a job as a schoolteacher in Buenos Aires. He’s a misanthrope, with a socially awkward sense of humor—“I’m like Ernest Hemingway, but with no money, and I haven’t written any books.”—looking for a quiet life in a quiet town.

What he discovers is anything but quiet. His students are a spoiled bunch of brats, and the country is in turmoil. President Isabel Perón is on the way out, soon to be replaced by a military dictatorship. “It’s a ghastly business,” says the school’s headmaster (Jonathan Pryce). “We try to keep out of it.”

When the coup is announced Michell hightails it to Uruguay for some R&R. There, on a romantic beach walk with a woman he met in a bar, he finds a penguin, later named Juan Salvador, covered in oil. The woman convinces him to take the penguin back to his hotel, leaving him stuck with a bird he has no idea of how to look after.

Back in Argentina, Michell and Juan form an unlikely bond. “What happened to you?” asks the headmaster, noting a change in Michell’s behavior. “I met a penguin,” says Michell.

A story of compassion and empathy set against the inhumanity of a political coup, “The Penguin Lessons,” although based on a true story, feels like two movies grafted together.

Still, Coogan is in fine haughty form. He delivers what we expect, sarcasm used like a weapon and razor-sharp comedic timing, but, as the story acquires more weight—as people close to Michell get disappeared and his friendship with Juan blossoms—he digs deep. He’s still the reserved, almost rude character he always was, but the rough edges have been slightly sanded down as Juan Salvador, a name that literally means John Saved, helps him regain his humanity.

Seen in the macro, “The Penguin Lessons” doesn’t really work. The political backdrop feels like a plot device rather than an integral part of the story. But when it focusses on the relationship between man and penguin it pulls at the heartstrings.