Films set in Latin America during periods of political and social unrest – the early work of Pablo Larraín, say – have traditionally been low on Dead Poets Society-style inspirational uplift. Or, for that matter, penguins. Now the Steve Coogan Heartwarming True Story Machine – the same one which produced Philomena and The Lost King – seeks to rectify the oversight, and not a moment too soon.
This adaptation of Tom Michell’s cosy memoir The Penguin Lessons, scripted by Coogan’s semi-regular collaborator Jeff Pope and directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), begins in Buenos Aires in 1976, just as Isabel Perón is being ousted in a military coup. Tom, played by Coogan, pitches up with his wardrobe of snazzy beige and mustard-coloured jackets (“Steve Coogan’s suits by Gresham Blake”) at a private school where he will be teaching English to the city’s most privileged teenage boys. A harrumphing headteacher (Jonathan Pryce) is on hand to explain the noises – “Argentina is in chaos!” – and to remind Tom to approach politics with a small “p”. It’s a lesson the film-makers embrace with gusto.
