My Penguin Friend

Rated PG • Theaters

Movies about the bond between humans and animals tug at the heartstrings with more insistence than other types of films. Of course, dog movies take pride of place in the genre—e.g., Old Yeller (1957), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), and a passel of Lassie and Benji movies. Movies about horses—e.g., National Velvet (1944), The Black Stallion (1979), and Seabiscuit (2003)—probably rank second in people’s affections after the countless canine adventures. No one, however, wants to see movies about cats.

There also haven’t been many films about the relationship between humans and birds, other than Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), which isn’t what I would call “heartwarming.” This lack of avian representation makes My Penguin Friend all the more special. The film is inspired by the true story of a Magellanic penguin that visited the same old man at the same time of year on the same beach for eight straight years.

French actor Jean Reno plays a Brazilian fisherman named João who finds a penguin that got caught in an oil spill. The old man cleans the penguin’s feathers and nurses him back to health by feeding him sardines. His wife Maria, played by Adriana Barraza, isn’t pleased to be sharing her humble home with a convalescing penguin, but she realizes her husband needs to continue caring for the bird.

Eventually the penguin makes a full recovery. João attempts to reintroduce him into the wild, but the penguin returns to João’s house the next day. João’s penguin friend becomes a celebrity around the village, and the bird gets the name Dindim.

Then one day he’s gone.

Like many other species of birds, Magellanic penguins migrate, and Dindim undertakes a yearly 5,000-mile journey from Brazil to the penguin breeding grounds in Patagonia, Argentina. In Argentina, Dindim stumbles into a subplot, meeting a trio of researchers who notice his unique behavior. After a while though, it’s time to make the 5,000-mile return trip to visit his friend João.

Reno is probably best known in America for portraying hard-eyed assassins in movies like Léon: The Professional (1994) and Mission: Impossible (1996), but the 76-year-old actor possesses a wide range. He’s starred in numerous romances and comedies in addition to the action movies he’s famous for. In this film, Reno gives a quiet performance of an old man carrying an emotional burden. He offers viewers an affecting portrayal of love mingled with sorrow, and we believe him when he says Dindim is his friend, rather than his pet. But no matter how good Reno is, it’s the penguin who steals the show.

Much of the movie progresses from Dindim’s charming perspective. He’s an amusing protagonist, waddling into mini-adventures around the house, through the village, and down to Patagonia. In fact, Dindim’s adorable waddling and childlike curiosity reminded me of the lovable extraterrestrial E.T. Dindim might not be as cuddly as a dog, but since he walks upright, he projects a personality that’s more intelligent and humanlike.

The movie also possesses delightful visuals. It’s hard to make tropical beaches with clear blue water ugly, but even João and Maria’s modest home and the neighbors’ ramshackle fishing boats possess a worn beauty.

The film boasts being “inspired by a true story,” and we see photos of the real-life João and Dindim as the credits roll. But don’t feel like you’re getting the inside scoop, because most of the movie’s plot is fictitious.

The real-life João did clean up Dindim after finding him in oil, but it’s unlikely the real Dindim traveled 5,000 miles to Argentina every year. In reality, he visited João while the other penguins nested in Patagonia. No one knows where he went during his five-month absences. Maybe he foraged in the open ocean with other penguins before heading back to his personal nesting ground in João’s backyard.

Despite the alterations intended to ratchet up the drama, this movie about a man and his bird friend gives the innumerable dog films a run for their money. The filmmakers rely on practical effects and a half dozen trained penguins to create a satisfying agenda-free family movie. The world needs more feel-good stories like this one.