What do you do when you grow weary of political chaos, personal loss and just a general malaise? Well, you should go see The Penguin Lessons at Robinson Film Center.
It was much harder for Tom Michell. He actually had to learn the lessons first hand.
The film is inspired by Michell’s memoir with the same title. It opens with his arrival in Argentina in 1976 to teach English at an elite boarding school. Michell, played by Steve Coogan, arrives in a cynical, sarcastic, and jaded state, searching for freedom, but mostly from himself. When a coup leads to the school being closed for a week, Michell slips off to Uruguay, in search of a little life and love. He finds it not in the arms of a woman, but in a penguin he rescues in a bid to impress the girl. He takes the bird back to school with him, where the penguin gets the name Juan Salvador and becomes sort of a mascot.
Juan Salvador strikes a deep nerve in Michell. The bird becomes Michell’s silent therapist, helping the scared and troubled man find the two things he is missing most — himself and his freedom. Before long, he is learning the lessons he is teaching his students — to rise like lions and see beyond their circumstances.
Make time to go see The Penguin Lessons and learn a bit from Juan Salvador yourself. He is a patient and loving teacher. All he asks is for a fish every now and then.
- Scott “Scooter” Anderson, Scooter Anderson Communications