Out of the nest

Eleven-year-old Noah finds a squawking magpie that’s fallen from its nest near an Australian beach and can’t fly. He brings it home to help it heal. But the bird isn’t the only character who needs healing.

Alternating between Noah’s narration, flashbacks, and real time, Penguin Bloom relates the horrific accident that befell Noah’s mom, Sam, and left her paralyzed from the chest down. The new film, based on a true story and streaming on Netflix, immerses its audience in tender, painful, intense, and sometimes comedic moments of an Australian family grappling with Sam’s life-changing injury, and the unconditional love that keeps the family together.

Portraying the real Sam Bloom, Naomi Watts brings nuance to transient emotions—despair, resentment, anger, hopelessness—that accompany her devastating prognosis.

We hurt when she sobs, unable to get out of bed to help her three sick sons who now call out for Daddy instead of her. Sitting in her wheelchair, she stares at photos of her energetic former life of surfing, swimming, running, and playing with her boys, and we understand her exploding anger over her self-perceived worthlessness and loss of identity. Constant activity with family, her nursing profession, and the ocean had defined her. She doesn’t believe life will ever hold purpose again.

This is where I wish we’d hear her call out to God. That never happens in the film, but we do see her husband’s daily devotion and encouragement as he moves her in and out of bed; attends to their rambunctious, trampoline-jumping sons; and defends his wife in front of a loving but overbearing mom. He continually reassures her of his love and her worth, and helps Sam discover new passion and purpose—one involving the ocean again.

Noah, the oldest of the three boys, is the most affected by his mom’s accident and blames himself. To help cope, he’s secretly filming and telling his version of his mom’s life. At one point he refers to her in the past tense: “It’s like Mom was stolen from us. … She was awesome.”

Like a literary device woven through a novel, Noah’s recovering black-and-white magpie, Penguin, symbolizes Sam’s journey. As Sam grudgingly begins to help it along, the bird endears itself to her with its antics, and she, with the family, cheers its progress. Sam slowly moves forward, too.

Though somewhat predictable, the film is still satisfying, thanks to believable characters who selflessly love each other, beautiful photography, the true storyline, and a remarkable magpie.

Watch through the credits to see photos of the real Bloom family, including Penguin. The movie, rated TV-14 for mature themes and mild language, may remind you to assess where your own worth resides and to hold your family close.