In the spring of 2011, a single Magellanic penguin was caught in an oil spill on his way to his summer breeding grounds. The unflappable creature eventually drifted on to Proveta Beach in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, which also happened to be the home of local retiree Joao Pereira de Souza. Pereira de Souza gently nursed the little guy back to health (lots of fish), named him Dindim (thanks to his young grandson’s mispronunciation of “pinguim,” Portuguese for penguin), and attempted to free him near a local island once he seemed to be back in fighting shape.
But Dindim came back, reappearing in Pereira de Souza’s yard just hours later. In February of 2012, Dindim finally left his human friend and Proveta Beach of his own accord. And, in June of that year, while all the other penguins alighted for their summer homes elsewhere in the ocean, Dindim returned to Proveta Beach to summer with Pereira de Souza. Again, that following February, he left. And in June, he came back. He did this for eight years in a row.
Understandably, the true story of the kindhearted human who saved the loyal penguin went viral (albeit with some trumped-up claims, like that Dindim traveled 5,000 miles each way to visit his summer pal; most people believe he spent his winter months out at sea before zipping back to Proveta Beach). Also understandably, that story (and some of said trumped-up claims, real fish tales, if you will) has now engendered a light, quite touching film version that should delight families and animal lovers alike.
While filmmaker David Schurmann’s “My Penguin Friend” may play fast and loose with the facts of Joao and Dindim’s true story — including some fictionalized human trauma and some unnerving animal peril — its spirit is pure, as is its message about the magic of animal husbandry and the power of doing the right thing. It’s lovely, lively, and guaranteed to get kids interested in the wild world around them, all the better if that also includes some outside research into what really happened with Joao and Dindim.
In Schurmann’s version, as scripted by Kristen Lazarian and Paulina Lagudi Ulrich, Joao is not a retired mason, but a fisherman who has spent nearly all of his life on this single tidy stretch of beach, for better and (as we will soon see) for worse. Played in the film’s opening scenes by Pedro Urizzi and then later (and primarily) by international superstar Jean Reno, this Joao endures a horrible tragedy during what should have been a lovely day out on the water: the birthday of his young son Miguel (Juan José Garnica), who wanted nothing more than to spend his special day out on the water with his dad.
Decades later, the horrific events of that day still haunt him, and Joao (plus his dedicated wife Maria, played in her younger years by Amanda Magalhães and later by powerhouse Adriana Barraza) has turned away from the world, including the other local villagers and fishermen who were once such an essential part of the family’s life. “That old man is broken, nothing’s fixing him,” one of his fellow fishermen tells us, and the wounded look in Reno’s eyes does little to dispel the truth of the notion.
And yet. Miles and miles away, a young Magellanic penguin is on his way. Shot occasionally through Dindim’s perspective, “My Penguin Friend” offers a genuine sense of wonder and play (Fernando Velázquez’s tinkly score assists) as the penguin colony of Patagonia prepares to head off into the ocean for their summer months, feeding and breeding to their hearts’ content. Dindim dozes in his nest as a group of enthusiastic birders observe the start of his tribe’s thrilling migratory process (while some of the I-am-a-penguin shots look CGI-fake, the majority of them are immersive and impressive and will surely delight a younger audience).
Along the way, Dindim is caught in a small oil spill, bad enough to render him sick, tired, and very confused. He drifts away from this friends, eventually washing up on Joao’s home shores. Seemingly desperate to pull anything from the drink, the brokenhearted fisherman snatches the little guy up, nursing him back to full health with lots of fish (he’s, of course, got plenty to spare) and overflowing love (he’s got that, too). Maria is less sold on the little guy, but when Joao suits him up in one of Miguel’s old sweaters — a hammy, but effective bit of drama — even she can’t quite resist his charm, or the healing power of his presence on her damaged husband. “Everything is for the penguin,” Maria bemoans as Joao sets about building him a tiny residence of his own, but there’s real pleasure in seeing Joao taking on anything with gusto, even if it’s penguin-based architecture.
Played by a coterie of 10 real rescued penguins (the film’s official press notes share that the majority of Dindim’s performance is by “hero” penguin Maui, with assists from Big Z, Teodora, Madalena, Capitao, Rosita, Fafa, Homer, Amelia, and Alcione), Dindim is curious and fun, trusting and high-spirited. He waddles into the village! He tries to help with the chores! He somehow breaks a bicycle! He cuddles with Joao in front of the TV! And when movie Joao, like the real-life Joao, attempts to free him back into the ocean, he comes swimming on back. Until, of course, movie Dindim, just like the real-life Dindim, goes out for a swim one day in February.
As a heartbroken Reno traces his tiny footsteps to the ocean’s edge, even those audience members who know the true story behind “My Penguin Friend” (or realize that we’re not even at the film’s midway point yet) will feel some real pangs. Schurmannn cleverly tempers the trauma by following Dindim on his trip back to the Patagonian beach of his birth. There, he’s greeted by his colony, his cozy nest, and a trio of curious researchers who marvel at this abnormally calm and friendly penguin, one who doesn’t seem at all put out by human interaction. Months pass, and as the colony heads out, so too does Dindim: straight back to Joao and Maria’s house.
Dindim’s return is heralded by all, not just Joao and Maria, but the rest of their local population, all of whom are thrilled to be able to greet the penguin and his human friend with warmth, affection, and disbelief. Understandably, Dindim’s highly personal migratory ventures are recorded, distributed, and devoured. For Joao and Maria, the concept of “going viral” is a foreign one, but they eventually come around to the importance of sharing this story with the world, even if that comes to include those curious researchers and their somewhat nefarious boss.
Schurmann’s film takes its most liberties in its final act, turning Dindim’s virality into an excuse for far more dramatic twists and turns (few of which actually happened), which help drive the film to a movie-ready ending that might be fake in its narrative but feels utterly real in its emotion. The real story of Joao and Dindim was always good enough for a big screen version, and while “My Penguin Friend” might inflate some parts of this particular fish tale, the result is the same: true feeling and a cute little guy to help share them.
Grade: B-
Roadside Attractions will release “My Penguin Friend” in theaters on Friday, August 16.
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