ABOUT FILMS BY YEAR MY 100 FAVORITES FEATURES HOME
About Films By Year My 100 Favorites Features

Seeking out the

5000 greatest films

in a century of cinema

The Penguin Lessons


Directed by Peter Cattaneo
Produced by Rory Aitken, Ben Pugh, and Robert Walak
Screenplay by Jeff Pope Based on the memoir by Tom Michell
With: Bruno Blas, Steve Coogan, Vivian El Jaber, Björn Gustafsson, and David Herrero
Cinematography: Xavi Giménez
Editing: Robin Peters
Music: Federico Jusid
Runtime: 111 min
Release Date: 28 March 2025
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color

Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) and screenwriter Jeff Pope adapt Tom Michell's memoir about working as an English teacher in Argentina, as it descends into violence and chaos in 1976. Steve Coogan plays Mitchell as a world-weary Steve Coogan type, who, thanks to his unlikely friendship with a penguin, regains his compassion for others. Failing to address its setting, history, and character attitudes sufficiently, the film relies on quirky English charm.

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