
“My Penguin Friend” has a very dated but radical appeal. It is a sincere family movie that elicits polite laughs throughout the entire running time no flippant or satirical themes, no immoderate use of music cues just an effective, decent experience that respects the viewer’s emotions, which it no doubt will evoke.
Director David Schurmann depicts true events about a fisherman’s affection for a penguin which lasted several years and spanned many oceans. Every June, the penguin would swim northward from its breeding grounds in the southernmost part of Argentina, along the eastern coast of South America, to Ilha Grande, off the coast of Brazil. It is as if every year in mid-summer the audience is expecting a flightless bird instead of Ellen Burstyn in “Same Time, Next Year.”
In Kristen Lazarian and Paulina Lagudi Ulrichs’s screenplay, João the fisherman has gone through a grave loss, which adds to the impact of the penguin’s presence in the later part of the narrative. Jean Reno impresses as João, a trauma-laden man who has been a shadow of himself embraced by this incredible opportunity. The actor demonstrates very different emotions in this movie, the most prominent ranging from sorrow, through joy, to mischief and delight, which is quite engaging.
A steady source of calm no matter the highs and lows in Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza’s performance as João’s wife Maria. There would be no traveling across the kitchen of Maria’s modest beach bungalow and getting a penguin as one of the inhabitants of the house. That’s just not Maria’s cup of tea, to begin with.
But it’s easy to fall in love with DinDim. The name given to the baby penguin by a girl in the village, it becomes a constant fixture in her life. The movie is also fascinating because it actually has real penguins, not puppets or CGI. According to press notes, they claim that we see natural birds for 80 percent of the duration, with some wire-controlled dummies and digital effects. There’s an overwhelming sense of closeness and realism achieved. Because of the great Anthony Dod Mantle, Danny Boyle’s regular cinematographer, Schurmann collaborates with him to film a lot of the movie at a lower vantage point and from a penguin\’s perspective. As a result, whenever DinDim gets into trouble, the film is infused with a sense of child-like enthusiasm.
It’s a perfect example of how “My Penguin Friend” functions on several levels for different audiences. Children will enjoy the slapstick humor while the adults will enjoy the great work put together to create the mayhem.
Set against rich sunsets, endless views of the sea, and the family’s kitchen, Dod Mantle is able to fill and elevate the whole film with beautiful images time and time again.
It is rather disheartening whenever “My Penguin Friend” exits this captivating tale and shifts gears back to Patagonia to find out what the scientists are up to. The characters Alexia Moyano, Nicolás Francella, and Rocio Hernández are portrayed as scientists and are actually making notes on the migratory patterns of these adorable creatures and their interaction within Argentina. DinDim is very nice and fairly inquisitive whereas the quite shallow character Francella always slates this penguin.
Then once a viral video comes out where DinDim is shown being cute with a villager named João, and the scientist realizes that he belongs with them, the process of locating him becomes very tedious. Since the cast and the production is international everyone speaks English to make things simple. However, the dialogue and interactions in the Patriot portions come off as very bland and robotic which is even more emphasized the contrast from the other parts of the film.
In the end of the day, the relationship that exists between DinDim and João is stronger and as a result, carries the day.
It may seem that a heroic moment that occurs towards the end of the film is too predictable because quite similar events occurred at the beginning, but it allows the audience to have a sense of closure and reassurance. One cannot help but get emotionally invested since the camera work is really compelling in this bit and the gentle glances of Reno are so tearful. You may think that you don’t need ‘My Penguin Friend’ life but you actually do.
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