“The Penguin Lessons” has life lessons for some and humor for all.

The film, “based on a true story,” according to the film’s opening credits, tells the story of Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a British teacher at a private school in Argentina in 1976.

Tom rescues a penguin from an oil spill on a beach.

The Magellanic penguin transforms the teacher’s life, lives of students in his classroom, and even that of the school’s gruff headmaster (Jonathan Pryce).

Tom teaches English at St. George’s College, a boarding school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, just before a military coup topples the regime of Isabel Peron that led to the legacy of “the disappeared.”

“The Penguin Lessons” is a comedy set against a political drama. The juxtaposition of the school teacher, the politics and the penguin is curiously compelling.

The penguin, of course, is adorable. The storyline is frequently hilarious. The dialogue is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

The comedy-drama is directed by Peter Cattaneo (Oscar nominee, director, “The Full Monty,” 1997) from a screenplay by Jeff Pope (Oscar nominee, adapted screenplay, shared with Steve Coogan and Martin Sixsmith, “Philomena,” 2013) from a 2016 memoir by Tom Michell, the teacher.

Coogan (Oscar nominee, best picture and adapted screenplay, “Philomena”) is wonderfully droll as a lonely teacher flummoxed by life’s challenges big and small.

Pryce (Oscar nominee, actor, “The Two Popes,” 2020) is cheeky and haughty as the headmaster.

The supporting cast is exceptional, including Vivian El Jaber, a housekeeper at the boarding school; Alfonsina Carrocio, her granddaughter; Björn Gustafsson, a fellow teacher; Micaela Breque, love interest of Tom, and David Herrero, Aimar Miranda and Hugo Fuertes, three of Tom’s students.

The cinematography by Xavi Giménez starts out as dark as the mood on Tom’s face and lightens up as his outlook brightens.

The soundtrack by Federico Jusid brings a bouncy Latin sensibility, including Argentinian tango dancing, to the story.

“The Penguin Lessons” is an unexpected delight and one of the best films of 2025 so far. The film deserves multiple Oscar nominations, including: actor (Steve Coogan), director (Peter Cattaneo) and adapted screenplay (Jeff Pope).

Be that is it may or may not be, meanwhile, don’t miss “The Penguin Lessons.” You may learn something about penguins ... and yourself.

“The Penguin Lessons,” PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13) for strong language, some sexual references and thematic elements. Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “The Penguin Lessons” was filmed in Catalonia and the Canary Islands, Spain.

At The Movies: “The Penguin Lessons” was seen in the standard format at AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office, April 4-6: “A Minecraft Movie” started the summer blockbuster season early, opening at No. 1 with $162.7 million in 4,263 theaters for the biggest opening of 2025 so far.

2. “A Working Man” dropped one place from its one week at No. 1 to No. 2 with $7.3 million in 3,262 theaters, $27.8 million, two weeks. 3. “The Chosen: Last Supper Part 2,” $6.9 million in 2,313 theaters, opening. 4. “Snow White” dropped two places, $5.9 million in 3,750 theaters, $77.3 million, three weeks. 5. “The Woman in the Yard” dropped one place, $4.5 million in 2,845 theaters, $16.6 million, two weeks. 6. “Death of a Unicorn” dropped one place, $2.6 million in 2,995 theaters, $8.4 million, two weeks. 7. “The Chosen: Last Supper” dropped four places, $1.8 million in 1,592 theaters, $17.9 million, two weeks. 8. “Hell of a Summer,” $1.7 million in 1,255 theaters, opening. 9. “The Friend,” starring Bill Murray and Naomi Watts, $1.6 million in 1,237 theaters, $1.7 million, two weeks. 10. “Captain America: Brave New World” dropped three places, $1.3 million in 1,750 theaters, $199 million, eight weeks. 14. ”The Penguin Lessons” dropped three places from No. 11, with $443,062 in 683 theaters, $2.2 million, two weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of April 6 is subject to change.

Unreel, April 11:

“The Amateur,” PG-13: James Hawes directs Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal and Lawrence Fishburne in the Spy Thriller. A CIA agent tries to track down terrorists who have killed his wife.

“The King of Kings,” PG: Seong-ho Jang directs the voice talents of Pierce Brosnan, Oscar Isaac, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker and Kenneth Branagh, and the animation in telling the Biblical story of Jesus.

“The Ballad of Wallis Island,” PG-13: James Griffiths directs Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan, Tim Key and Sian Clifford in the Comedy Drama. An eccentric man wins the lottery and wants to get his band back together.

“Sacramento,” R: Michael Angarano directs May Erskine, Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart and himself in the comedy. A young man goes on a road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

“One to One: John & Yoko,” R: Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice Edwards direct the documentary about John and Yoko in New York City in 1972 as they produce the “One to One” charity concert for children with special needs. The film includes never-before-seen archives, home movies and restored footage of the concert with remixed audio by John and Yoko’s son, Sean Ono Lennon.

Movie openng information from Internet Movie Database as of April 6 is subject to change.

Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes