My Penguin Friend
Directed by David Schurmann
Written by Kristen Lazarian and Paulina Lagudi
Starring: Jean Reno, Adriana Barraza, Alexia Moyano
MPAA Rated PG
Runtime 97 minutes
In Theaters August 16

by Kevin Murphy, Staff Writer

I did not expect a movie about a man who becomes friends with a penguin to have such a tragic Up-style opening, and it set me up for one of my favorite plotlines: a reluctant father figure growing into that role against his expectations. That is not at all what this movie ended up being. Instead, it’s a low-stakes adventure that offers charming scenes but no real tension or development.

Following the loss of his son in a boating accident, João (Reno), a fisherman on Ihla Grande off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, is a broken man who isolates himself from the neighbors he was so open with years before. When he finds a penguin at the beach, covered in oil and struggling, João immediately brings it home to try and rescue it, failing to keep it a secret from his wife, Maria (Barraza). After it recovers, the penguin refuses to leave, and is introduced to the townsfolk, adopting the name DinDim; but soon it is time for the bird to migrate back home to Patagonia, rejoining its colony who are being observed by researchers, led by Adriana (Alexia Moyano). Considering him a peculiar specimen, the researchers tag him before the next year’s migration, when DinDim returns to João and launches into the public eye after a video of them is posted to the internet–which catches the interest of Adriana's university, and she has to decide whether or not to take DinDim to them after he returns south.

Everything with the penguin colony is delightful. The score is light and whimsical, the birds are cute, and the overall tone is like comfort food. In particular, watching DinDim make a burrow out of a small hut that João builds for him is sweet enough to cause cavities. This side of the movie is almost like a documentary without narration, and the use of actual penguins helps to sell this. Unfortunately, this means that it doesn’t contribute much to the story beyond sweetening the tone, and the same can be said for many of the interactions the townsfolk have with DinDim.

I will also praise the performances of Jean Reno and Adriana Barraza, who do give heart to a tale that should have an easier time finding that. Reno is endearing in his affection for DinDim, and the scene where he’s cleaning the oil off of the penguin is so sweet and gives a sense of healing for him; unfortunately, the depths of his despair aren’t shown, only commented on by those neighbors and old friends who feel sorry for him or hold vague grudges. Barraza really shines as a wife who seems to have been putting up with João’s sporadic projects over the years, and it’s a shame that there isn’t much for her to do outside of that, because her reactions to everything, golden as they are, never give way to her taking initiative. Most of the other performances are flat, with some charisma but a delivery of lines that feels stiff. This may be because of the film’s insistence on using English dialogue, with heavy accents and a lack of inflection, rather than the native tongues of the actors who were mostly from Brazil and Argentina, where the film was filmed and takes place.

There’s very little in the way of conflict, which is probably the film’s biggest problem. Tension is absent for much of it, and characters don’t hold onto disagreements for very long before caving completely one way or another. Maria offers little resistance to the new lodger in their home, Adriana barely stands up to the university wanting to relocate DinDim to their facilities, and João’s old friends jump to help him as soon as he approaches them for the first time in years. Any problems are defused so quickly that by the time there’s a scene near the end that actually has stakes, the outcome is expected and unfulfilling.

While the charm of the film bears some magic, and will likely be enjoyable for younger audiences, what My Penguin Friend would benefit from most is some form of lasting tension to hold everything together. DinDim is intended to be a surrogate son for João, but this is no more established than João’s isolation at the start: told and not shown, and quickly moved on from. It’s cozy and fluffy, and I just wish that it provided more of a story than the short human interest pieces written about the actual friendship on which it is based.