A beautiful story of healing

By Sarah T. Schwab

Marine invertebrate ecologist Katie Holt and research scientist Eric Wagner traveled to Punta Tombo, Argentina in April 2024 to attach satellite-tracking tags on 20 Magellanic penguins. The goal was to study migratory behavior during fall and winter in the Southern Hemisphere and determine how penguins survived (or didn’t) among natural predators, fishermen, shipping boats and pollution. Although their ability to survive is compromised by being flightless, penguins can swim thousands of kilometers in the ocean to hunt for food all while being able to navigate their way back home (also the subject of 2005’s “March of the Penguins“).

Survival and home are two powerful themes for the narrative feature “My Penguin Friend” (2024), which is inspired by true events and opened in theaters today.

The film opens with a tragedy for fisherman João (Jean Reno) and his wife Maria (Adriana Barraza) in the small fishing town of Ilha Grande, Brazil (the film is spoken in English, but there are moments of Portuguese thrown in to keep the tone authentic). The couple lives a simple life, but the past has taken a toll. The story moves quickly with upbeat, culturally resonant music, composed by award-winning Fernando Velázquez.

One day a penguin waddles up to João as he works on his boat. Taken by the solo creature, João cleans it, feeds it sardines and stitches together a sweater to keep it warm. When Maria comes home from grocery shopping, she sees the penguin in the bathroom, which has playfully gotten tangled in toilet paper. She asks her husband, “Why is a penguin in our home?” João replies, “He needs our help.”

At first Maria is against an animal being inside the house, especially when she has to clean its “accidents” off the floor. She watches as João builds a makeshift nest outside, takes the penguin for walks through town and pets it kindly. A young neighbor girl watches this as well. “Is he your pet?” she asks. “No,” João says. “He’s my friend.” The girl smiles and assigns the penguin a name: “DinDim.” Maria understands that this unconventional friendship makes her husband happy, something he hasn’t been for years. DinDim is no longer just an animal, but a member of the family and community.

One day DinDim is suddenly gone, his footsteps leading out to sea. João is crushed, thinking that his friend has left. However, as we follow DinDim’s path, we learn that he has swum back to his other home on the Valdés Peninsula in Argentina where other penguins migrate each year (5,000km away). As the story goes on, it becomes routine that DinDim leaves Brazil in December to be with his own kind and returns in June to stay with his human friends.

Oscar-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantel’s (“Slumdog Millionaire,” 2008) underwater shots of penguins swimming together combined with a unique camera perspective create the impression of watching a David Attenborough nature documentary. “My Penguin Friend” is beautifully written by Paulina Lagudi and Kristin Lazarian and evokes James Whitmore’s brilliant performance in “The Shawshank Redemption” as he nurses a crow back to life.

The film concludes with real-life footage of João and DinDim and closes with the fact that DinDim swam between Argentina and Brazil to visit his friend for eight consecutive years.

This heart-filled family-friendly drama is full of humor and moments of suspense. The viewer feels joy and hope watching these two broken souls find each other, leaving behind lessons about determination, the power of community and love.

The runtime is 1:37. It can be seen at Dipson Capitol (Niagara Falls), North Park, Regal Quaker and Regal Walden Galleria.