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The Penguin Lessons, I replied with unmistakable clarity.
I cant blame them.
This choice was neither accidental nor, I would argue, foolhardy.
To be perfectly clear: This isnt about picking a movie it’s possible for you to nap through.
I didnt come here to sleep; I came to see movies.
In my decade of TIFF attendance, this strategy has served me well.
Often, Ive discovered small-scale gems or reunited with filmmakers whose work Id forgotten I loved.
I got better at it.
In 2016, I hit the nail right on the head with Lone ScherfigsTheir Finest.
The movie is charming, though these things are almost always better if theyre period pieces.
SoThe Penguin Lessonsmarked a real comeback for me.
It is the absolute platonic ideal of the (UB)FFCDM.
The films director, Peter Cattaneo, is very good at staging this kind of light comedy.
Jonathan Pryce plays the persnickety headmaster who prefers to keep politics outside the school walls.
Vivian El Jaber plays the no-nonsense school cook.
Everybody, at one point or another, ends up monologuing at the penguin.
One scene takes place at a Uruguayan disco.
The Penguin Lessonswas not a must-see film in this years TIFF lineup.
You and your poor overburdened brain will be happy if you do.
