The Penguin Lessons

{{Infobox film

| name = The Penguin Lessons

| image = The Penguin Lessons poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Film poster

| director = Peter Cattaneo

| screenplay = Jeff Pope

| based_on = The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell

| producer = Rory Aitken
Adrián Guerra
Andrew Noble
Ben Pugh
Robert Walak

| starring = Steve Coogan
Jonathan Pryce
Vivian El Jaber
Björn Gustafsson

| cinematography = Xavi Giménez

| editing = Robin Peters
Tariq Anwar

| music = Federico Jusid

| studio = Intake Films
Rolling Dice
42
Nostromo Pictures
Aperture Media Partners

| distributor = Lionsgate (UK and Ireland)

| released = {{Film date|2024|9|6|TIFF|2025|4|18|UK|df=y}}

| runtime = 112 minutes{{cite web |title=The Penguin Lessons |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-penguin-lessons-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdiymze1 |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |access-date=7 April 2025 |language=en}}

| country = United Kingdom
Spain

| language = English
Spanish

| budget =

| gross = $4.6 million{{Cite web |title=The Penguin Lessons – Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Penguin-Lessons-The-(2025)#tab=summary |publisher=The Numbers |access-date=April 23, 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt26677014/ |title=The Penguin Lessons |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=27 April 2025}}

}}

The Penguin Lessons is a 2024 comedy-drama film directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce. It is based on the 2015 memoir by Tom Michell, a British teacher who taught at a boys' boarding school in Argentina in the 1970s, with the script adapted by Jeff Pope. After Michell rescued a penguin which he found soaked with oil on a beach in the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este, it kept following him, so he took it back to the school, where it became a popular pet. The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024, before being released in cinemas in the US and UK and on 28 March and 18 April 2025 respectively.

Plot

In 1976, disillusioned educator Tom Michell arrives at St. George's College, an exclusive boys school in Argentina, to teach English and coach rugby. He befriends his housekeeper Maria, her granddaughter Sofia, a political activist protesting the escalating Argentine coup d'état, and St. George's science teacher Tapio. Despite Headmaster Buckle's full confidence in Michell's background, the latter struggles to keep his class attentive and well-behaved.

When a bombing in the city calls for students to be sent home for a week, Michell and Tapio take a trip to Uruguay. Michell meets a woman named Carina at a dance club, and they find an oil slick on the beach that has killed several Magellanic penguins, except for one. Michell and Carina take the surviving penguin to Michell's hotel room to clean it in the bathtub. The two share an intimate moment but Carina amicably rejects Michell, admitting she is married.

Michell's attempts to release the penguin to the ocean result in it returning to him. He reluctantly smuggles it back to St. George's, and contacts a zoo. Upon learning of the zoo's horrid conditions, Michell resolves to adopt the penguin, naming it Juan Salvador. Maria and Sofia are charmed by the penguin, leading Michell to introduce Juan Salvador to his class, which succeeds in making them pay attention and excel in their studies. Michell bonds more with his students, permitting them to feed Juan Salvador fish while urging them to keep it secret from Buckle. Tapio also meets the penguin and has a personal conversation with it.

In the city, Michell witnesses Sofia being kidnapped by Argentine authorities for her activism. Visiting a grieving Maria at her home, Michell learns she will protest for Sofia's release and, touched by her strong family bond, he shares that he lost his teenage daughter to a car accident, which then caused a rift in his marriage. He confesses to Maria that he saw Sofia being taken away but did nothing.

Buckle learns of Juan Salvador and, enforcing strict policies, orders Michell to leave St. George's. Michell confronts the militant that ordered Sofia's kidnapping and sternly presses him to release her. He is promptly arrested and beaten, later bailed out by Tapio. Following the incident, Buckle reconsiders firing Michell, admitting that Juan Salvador's presence has positively affected the staff and student body, even having a personal talk with it himself. Juan Salvador is granted a swim in the school's pool.

Shortly after, Juan Salvador suddenly dies. Devastated, Michell gives it a burial on St. George's campus under a tree near the rugby field. As he presents his eulogy to the staff and students, a beaten and shaken Sofia returns. Michell looks on as Maria and her granddaughter reunite.

Cast

{{castlist|

Steve Coogan as Tom Michell
Vivian El Jaber as Maria
Björn Gustafsson as Science Teacher Tapio
David Herrero as Diego
Jonathan Pryce as Headmaster Buckle
Alfonsina Carrocio as Sofia
Aimar Miranda as Ernesto
Nicanor Fernandez as Igor
Hugo Fuertes as Ramiro
Joaquín Lopez as Víctor
Miguel Alejandro Serrano as Walter
Brendan McNamee as Cooper

}}

Production

The script was adapted by Jeff Pope from Tom Michell's memoir of the same name,{{cite web |last=London |first=Rob |date=8 February 2023 |title=Steve Coogan to Star in Film Adaptation of 'The Penguin Lessons' |url=https://collider.com/steve-coogan-cast-the-penguin-lessons/ |publisher=Collider |access-date=22 April 2025}} published in 2016.{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2016-06-26 |title=The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell review – heartwarmingly eccentric |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/26/penguin-lessons-memoir-tom-michell-review |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}

The film was shot in Spain in 2023 and in Argentina and Uruguay in 2024.{{cite web |date=13 February 2025 |title=The Penguin Lessons Filming Locations (2025) |url=https://4filming.com/the-penguin-lessons-filming-locations/ |publisher=4Filming |access-date=22 April 2025}}

Release

The Penguin Lessons premiered as a gala presentation at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=22 July 2024 |title=Angelina Jolie's 'Without Blood,' Mike Leigh's 'Hard Truths' Added to Toronto Film Fest Lineup |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/angelina-jolie-toronto-film-fest-2024-lineup-1235954300/ |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=22 April 2025}}

It was released in the United States on 28 March 2025 by Sony Pictures Classics and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 18 April 2025 by Lionsgate UK.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Reception

=Box office=

In its opening weekend in the United States, the film made $1.2 million from 1,017 cinemas.{{Cite web |title='Princess Mononoke' Re-Release Leads Previews With $1.2M, 'A Working Man' $1.1M & More – Box Office |url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/box-office-snow-white-princess-mononoke-jenna-ortega-death-of-a-unicorn-1236353369/ |publisher=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=March 28, 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2025W13/ |title=Domestic 2025 Weekend 13 |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 4, 2025}} Losing 334 cinemas in its second weekend, the film fell 62% to $444,316.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2025W14/?ref_=bo_hm_rw |title=Domestic 2025 Weekend 14 |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 7, 2025}}

=Critical response=

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|81||110|The Penguin Lessons is appealing even if it curiously elides some disturbing geopolitical history, and is elevated by a winning performance from Steve Coogan with a little help from a lovable pint-sized companion.}}{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_penguin_lessons |title=The Penguin Lessons |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=23 April 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|53|24}}{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-penguin-lessons/ |title=The Penguin Lessons |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=25 April 2025}}