There\u2019s\u00a0something radical about the old-fashioned approach of \u201cMy Penguin Friend.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0an earnest, crowd-pleasing family film \u2013 nothing snarky or\u00a0self-referential, no on-the-nose needle drops\u00a0– just a sweet, beautifully made movie that earns the emotion\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0surely\u00a0draw from its viewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Director David Schurmann tells\u00a0the true story of the unlikely bond between a penguin and\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman, which lasted over several years and thousands of miles. The penguin\u00a0would migrate every\u00a0June\u00a0from Patagonia\u00a0at the tip of Argentina,\u00a0along the Eastern edge of\u00a0South America, to Ilha Grande off the coast of Brazil.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0like \u201cSame Time, Next Year,\u201d with a flightless bird\u00a0in place of Ellen Burstyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the script from Kristen\u00a0Lazarian and Paulina\u00a0Lagudi\u00a0Ulrich,\u00a0the\u00a0fisherman, Jo\u00e3o, has suffered a devastating loss at the beginning of the film, making the\u00a0surprising arrival of the penguin\u00a0that much more poignant.\u00a0Jean Reno gives a\u00a0vulnerable,\u00a0moving performance as Jo\u00e3o, a\u00a0simple\u00a0man broken by tragedy transformed by the thrill of this unexpected\u00a0connection.\u00a0He shows\u00a0great range\u00a0here, from sorrow to joy to an impish sense of playfulness, and his openness is captivating.\u00a0And as Jo\u00e3o\u2019s wife, Maria, Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza is a sturdy anchor, a steady source of calm no matter the highs and lows.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0also not too\u00a0thrilled\u00a0at first about having a penguin pitter-patter around the kitchen of her modest, beachfront bungalow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But\u00a0DinDim\u00a0is too darn\u00a0cute.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0the name a little girl in the village gives the penguin, and it sticks.\u00a0And part of\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0amazing about the film is that it features actual penguins rather than animatronics or CGI creations. The press notes\u00a0inform us\u00a0that\u00a0we see live\u00a0penguins\u00a080 percent of\u00a0the time, with some wire-controlled dummies and digital effects. The result is a hugely compelling feeling\u00a0of intimacy and authenticity. Working with the great cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, Danny Boyle\u2019s frequent collaborator,\u00a0Schurmann shoots much of the film at low angles and from the\u00a0penguin’s\u00a0point of view.\u00a0This gives the movie an exuberant feeling of childlike wonder, especially as\u00a0DinDim\u00a0gets into mischief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s\u00a0a great example\u00a0of how \u201cMy Penguin Friend\u201d works on multiple levels for various viewers. Kids will love the silly energy\u00a0while adults can appreciate the craftsmanship behind the chaos.\u00a0From vibrant sunsets to endless ocean vistas to quiet moments\u00a0in the family\u2019s kitchen, Dod Mantle repeatedly offers wondrous images\u00a0that\u00a0buoy\u00a0the film along.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is why\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0such a letdown whenever \u201cMy Penguin Friend\u201d\u00a0cuts away from this\u00a0heartwarming\u00a0story and\u00a0returns to Patagonia to see what the researchers there are doing.\u00a0Alexia Moyano, Nicol\u00e1s\u00a0Francella , and Rocio Hern\u00e1ndez\u00a0play the scientists who\u00a0study these cuddly creatures, taking\u00a0notes on their migration patterns as well as\u00a0their\u00a0activities in Argentina.\u00a0DinDim\u00a0stands out for his friendliness\u00a0and\u00a0curiosity, although Francella\u2019s one-note character is a\u00a0consistent naysayer who\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0think this\u00a0particular penguin\u00a0is anything special.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s\u00a0something radical about the old-fashioned approach of \u201cMy Penguin Friend.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0an earnest, crowd-pleasing family film \u2013 nothing snarky or\u00a0self-referential, no on-the-nose needle drops\u00a0– just a sweet, beautifully made movie that earns the emotion\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0surely\u00a0draw from its viewers.\u00a0 Director David Schurmann tells\u00a0the true story of the unlikely bond between a penguin and\u00a0a\u00a0fisherman, which lasted over several years and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[35,45,32],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drama-movies","tag-adventure","tag-drama","tag-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/us.celebrity2000.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}