“Friendship is a bridge that connects hearts across distances.” - unknown
From time to time we all need a little pick-me-up. These days it might be a more frequent occurrence but the point is sometimes we need a little help finding the sunshine. It could be indulging in ice cream, a cookie, buying that new dress you’ve been eyeing or finally grabbing those sharp looking Nikes you’ve had in your Amazon wish list for six months. Maybe you don’t want to spend money so you look for something closer to home for a much needed boost of dopamine. For a good cry you might turn to The Notebook or The Fault in Our Stars. For something more thrilling you might turn to Panic Room for example. But today you’re in the mood for something happier, a reminder of better things and so you turn to streaming.
My Penguin Friend is certainly a viable option for the dispelling of any melancholy you may be feeling. It requires little in the way of investment and puts its characters through minimal amounts of peril. It’s a fresh, light salad after a day of heavy lasagna. It’s a breath of warm air and slight breeze after four months of blizzards, and not the good kind from Dairy Queen.
This lovely little story is based on true events. In the film version, a heartbroken fisherman on a small island near South America is simply going through the motions required of him. His heart and passion for life died when he tragically lost someone very close to him. Almost as if being helped by forces in the cosmos, an unlikely companion would find its way to this man changing him forever. A lost penguin steeped in oil is found adrift by this man who helps bring the poor creature back to full strength. Doing right by the wild animal, he attempts to part ways by returning him to the ocean where he belongs. However, as fate would have it, a quick stay of healing turns into a more permanent situation as the penguin, lovingly named Dindim, would willingly return to his fisherman friend every year from his home in Patagonia, a distance of over five thousand miles. It’s a story of a friendship so strong not even the vast ocean can keep them apart.
Jean Reno stars as the lonely fisherman and portrays a morose outlook with ease balancing not just sadness but a real sense of longing for what was and can never be again. He has an emptiness he showcases brilliantly with just a glance and slumped body language. He wonderfully demonstrates a human being in the throes of loss who never quite found their way from the pit of despair. He’s a tragic, pathetic man who simply needs a sign that life is still worth the effort. In the form of a small, waddling Magellanic penguin named Dindim, this man would find redemption.
The entire point of this movie comes down to two things: to tell an inspiring, beautiful, true story and to make you smile. That’s it. While it doesn’t need to be anything more it does suffer in certain aspects because of such a singular focus. Particularly editing and pacing create mild confusion for certain story elements. It’s often not clear how much time has passed in their interactions from when the penguin arrives and leaves this man’s doorstep on its yearly return trips home. It doesn’t clarify beyond a throw away line from a character how long this friendship has carried on. It jumps without warning or notification and just expects you to catch on eventually. It’s also incredibly sappy, a borderline Lifetime special.
There’s nothing particularly wrong with this movie, I just don’t know that it was intended for a cynic like myself. I can see and even appreciate the merits of such a sweet story but without any real dramatic pull to it, it doesn't always feel worth it. I can’t quite put my finger on why it didn’t connect with me fully but I can be removed enough to give an impartial review of it. My complaints about it are that of a cinephile who looks for technical things most probably would never notice nor care about. If you want little in the way of real drama, large quantities of mawkish sentimentality, family friendly entertainment and, if I’m honest with myself, a genuinely lovely little story of friendship, My Penguin Friend is certainly one to give a chance.
Rated PG For: thematic content
Runtime: 97 minutes
After Credits Scene: Mid-credits, yes.
Genre: Drama, Family
Starring: Jean Reno, Adriana Barraza, Nicolás Francella, Rochi Hernández
Directed By: David Schurmann
Out of 10
Story: 8.5/ Acting: 8/ Directing: 6.5/ Visuals: 8
OVERALL: 7.5/10
Buy to Own: Yes.
Check out the trailer below:
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