My Penguin Friend

"My Penguin Friend" is a touching testament to the power of connection.

My gosh, I'm a sucker for a sentimental feel-good story. I just can't help myself. There's just something extraordinary about seeing people rise from tragedy, reclaim their past glory or glow and inspire those around them.

So, when "My Penguin Friend" came knocking on my inbox door, I enthusiastically answered after reading the film's summary – "a triumphant tale of friendship between a lonely father and the little lost penguin." Sign me up!

Even more fantastic is that the movie is based on a true story about a fisherman named João from Rio de Janeiro. He finds a small, oil-covered penguin stranded on the shores of Ilha Grande. João takes the penguin home to nurse it back to health and, in doing so, finds his own healing along the way.

"My Penguin Friends" starts out with João (Pedro Urizzi) as a much younger man going about his life as a fisherman and living a simple, loving life with his wife Maria (Amanda Magalhães) and their young son. João is a happy man, but when a boating accident results in the death of his son on his son's birthday, João blames himself and becomes a broken man who struggles to find his way through the grief.

Now João (Jean Reno) is an old man and he and his wife Maria (Adriana Barraza) still live in the same house, but João no longer goes out with the other fisherman. Confined to a life of self-imposed loneliness, João is the man others speak of in whispers behind his back and that's fine with him.

One morning, he notices something bobbing up and down in the surf, and it turns out to be an oil-covered penguin. João quickly cradles the penguin and takes it back to his house to clean it up and nurse it to health. Little does he know his act of kindness will inspire thousands of people with the touching tale of a man and his penguin friend.

The penguin quickly becomes at home in the old man's house, and when the day comes that João is to take it out to return to its home, a little girl from the village names the little bird Dindim, and the name sticks. He leaves DinDim on the far island, but much to his surprise, the little bird returns to his home, waddling in like he owns the place.

As the two grow closer and closer, João knows it's just a matter of time before DinDim leaves to find his home, and when the moment comes, João believes that will be the last time their paths cross, but DinDim is not your ordinary penguin.

Over the next several years, DinDim traverses more than 5,000 miles from Patagonia to Rio de Janeiro to visit his friend without fail. This remarkable journey captures the imagination and hearts of many and makes João, Maria, and DinDim viral sensations when a video of the little penguin and João hits the internet.

But when a university wants DinDim, the research team at Patagonia, to bring him to the university to be studied, it looks like the duo's friendship and bond will forever be broken. Still, sticking true to his unique personality, DinDim is able to escape from the researchers and find his way back to the beach once more. But he's injured during a fall and still tries to trek back to João against even greater odds.

As he readies for DinDim's yearly return, João discovers a small present that his son's friend gave to him the day before he died. DinDim discovered it in the boy's bedroom and put it in João's coat pocket. Opening it, he finds a bracelet meant for his son, reigniting the grief from years before.

When Dindim's expected return comes and goes, João sets out to find his little friend. Where he couldn't save his son, João is intent on finding DinDim and bringing him home. With the vast ocean and 5,000 miles between them, João knows his chances of finding DinDim are slim, but he won't turn his back on the little penguin.

The film features one of the most perfect endings to a movie I've seen in a long time. Simple and beautiful.

I absolutely loved this film. Its power comes from its simplicity, with Reno giving a touching performance and displaying a nuisance that only comes with experience. At one moment, he'll have you cheering him on, and the next, you'll be reaching for the tissues.

While Reno is excellent, the penguins - or, more accurately, the ten penguins used to portray Dindim - are the film's true stars. It's hard not to fall in love with them as they deliver a performance that is both sincere and dignified. You literally can't take your eyes off the character whenever they are on screen.

"My Penguin Friend" is a touching testament to the power of connection and an unlikely friendship that transforms and transcends life's challenges. It's a film that will leave you with a full heart.