The Penguin Lessons (M) – 110 minutes

Take a disillusioned Englishman, drop him in the middle of a hotbed of discontent, add the surprise appearance of a penguin and, voila, you have a little piece of magic.

We are in Buenos Aires in 1976. A military coup is imminent.

Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) has just arrived at prestigious boarding school St George’s College.

At short notice, laidback and cynical Michell has accepted a job as the live in English teacher.

The authoritative headmaster Timothy Buckle (Jonathan Pryce) isn’t in tune with Michell’s keen sense of humour.

What Buckle is keen on doing is laying down the rules, which include no loud music, no smoking and no pets. He also doesn’t want his teachers to get involved in the local politics.

Much to Michell’s chagrin, Buckle also gives him rugby coaching responsibilities, even though the former doesn’t know the game or care for it.

Michell is quickly befriended by Finnish physics master Tapio (Björn Gustafsson), whose is bemoaning the loss of his wife, who left him for another man.

A military coup, which closes the school for a week, sees Michell take a trip to nearby Uruguay, with Tapio tagging along.

While Tapio is socially awkward, Michell is not.

He hooks up with a woman and while walking on the beach together, she is drawn to many penguins that have been caught up in an oil slick.

All but one is dead and that one is in a bad state. She implores Michell to help rescue it.

With the woman quickly out of the picture, he is literally left holding the bird. As much as he wants to ditch it, the Magellanic penguin latches on to him and he ends up transporting it back across the border and into Argentina.

Soon enough, the bird, at first named Peter and then renamed Juan Salvador, is making waves at the school.

The penguin provides a bridge to the recalcitrant students, who were giving Michell a hard time.

The bird is also a conduit to warmer relations with the hired help, namely Michell’s housekeeper Maria (Vivian El Jabar).

But things in Argentina are far from rosy and members of the military are grabbing people off the streets, many never to be seen again.

Among those in the firing line is Maria’s outspoken granddaughter Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio), who has lived with her since the age of five.

Against Michell’s own heartbreaking story, Juan Salvador helps bring him back to life.

Inspired by Tom Michell’s memoir, The Penguin Lessons is a heartwarming dramedy, written by Jeff Pope (Philomena).

The film is full of humour and pain.

Balancing the two in the wake of a military coup, which lasted for seven years and saw 30,000 people “disappear”, was never going to be easy.

But Pope, with director Peter Cattaneo (Military Wives) at the helm, have done a fine job.

While you could argue that the pendulum could have seen even more weight placed on the brutality of the military, the path trodden is more of the quirky.

Leading from the front and well credentialled to do so is Steve Coogan. He is quite the natural in the role and showcases his range, which has depth to it.

Around him is quite an eclectic cast.

Jonathan Pryce effortlessly channels the quintessential English gentleman.

Björn Gustafsson plays the straight man, namely the Finnish physics teacher, with distinction.

Vivian El Jabar brings dignity to Maria and Alfonsina Carrocio has a feisty quality as her granddaughter.

And I can’t mention the actors without referencing the pivotal part that the penguin plays.

At the end of the movie, we also get to see a quick clip of the real penguin that formed the heart of the story as it played out for real in 1976.

Set against a tumultuous backdrop, The Penguin Lessons is poignant and polished and scores a 7½ out of 10.