The Fall Film Festival at the Dietrich Theater is in full swing and I have already checked out ‘The Bikeriders’ and the opening night film ‘Touch.’ I plan on seeing at least a couple more film festival selections which I will have quick takes of those available on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page.
Now, if you’re looking for something that can be quite moving, then I highly recommend this film that I recently saw - ‘My Penguin Friend.’
A great family adventure, ‘My Penguin Friend’ is a tale of friendship between a lonely father and a little lost penguin who recharges his spirit and heals his family with an unshakable ocean-crossing loyalty.
Humble fisherman Joao has turned away from the world in the wake of a tragedy. But, when he discovers a penguin drifting alone in the ocean, drenched in oil from a spill, his first instinct is to help.
To his wife’s dismay, he not only rescues the penguin, but takes the flightless bird under his wing. For the first time in years, Joao starts to feel joy, even if he can’t fathom just how unbreakable a bond is being formed.
When the penguin suddenly disappears back to the ocean, Joao believes it’s impossible that he’ll ever see his friend again. But thousands of miles away, the penguin is caught in some misadventures of his own, determined to use his unique GPS-like ability to find his way back to the place he now considers home.
‘My Penguin Friend’ is a beautifully moving tale that not only shows us an unlikely friendship, but also shows us the beauty of nature.
This is a charming little film that is a beautiful story that will leave you feeling moved and a little emotional. Once we see the lonely fisherman begin to take care of the lost penguin, it shows how good people can actually be and the love of nature when saved and respected.
The friendship between Joao (the fisherman) and his new-found friend is really inspiring and helps him not feel so depressed after a terrible tragedy that happened years back. You can also get so invested into this film’s story and can really feel for Joao everytime the penguin leaves.
We also get to see the penguin (named DinDim) go on quite a few little adventures in his travels. In the film, DinDim also gets involved with a few scientists who are studying penguins, which can slow the film down just a bit.
‘My Penguin Friend’ is a film that’s really worth watching. Throughout the feature, you will feel absolutely moved, especially when the film comes to its end. Also, while you check out Joao’s and DinDim’s journey, you may want to bring a tissue or two. This is one of those feel-good films that we all need right now!
The cast: Jean Reno as Joao; Adriana Barraza as Maria; Alexia Moyano as Adriana; Nicolas Francella as Carlos; Rochi Hernandez as Steohanie; Thamla de Freitas as Calista; Duda Galvao as Lucia and Juan Jose Garnica as Miguel.
‘My Penguin Friend’ is written by Kristen Lazarian and Paulina Lagudi Ulrich and directed by David Schurmann.
‘My Penguin Friend’ is based on the remarkable true story of fisherman Joaoa Pereira de Souza and DinDim the penguin, which went viral in 2016. A film based on this true story was reported to be in development in April 2022.
Portraying DinDim were ten rescue penguins from Ubatubo, Brazil. In the movie, 80% of the shots are of real penguins. For the other 20%, where the situation would be unsafe for a real penguin, the filmmaker used either CGI or animatronics.
‘My Penguin Friend’ is rated PG for thematic elements and has a running time of 97 minutes.
The remaining show dates/times for this film during the festival are as follows: Thurs. Oct. 3 at 2:30; Friday Oct. 4 at 2:30 and Monday Oct. 7 at 4:30.
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