Craving a better movie with superior story-telling, exceptional character development, and solid acting and direction? We can help with that! This Summer The Garrick will begin bringing you the best in independent film through a new initiative in partnership with MUN Cinema.
Dr. Noreen Golfman, a long time professor of English and administrator at Memorial University who regularly taught film studies, founded both the St. John's International Women's Film Festival (1989) and the MUN Cinema Series (1991). Now retired from Memorial, every Fall and Winter Noreen continues to lead MUN Cinema, presenting a program at St. John's of critically acclaimed, independent films from around the world.
MUN Cinema will now share its programming, including Noreen's insightful film descriptions, with the Garrick for a new series under, MUN Cinema @ the Garrick. Throughout the calendar year, we will present a minimum of 12 offerings from the current or previous year's program. Film nights may vary, but will normally be Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Sunday afternoons are also likely during the darker months.
We are launching MUN Cinema @ the Garrick this Friday (August 7 @ 8:00 p.m.) with The Penguin Lessons.
The Penguin Lessons
(Spain, United States, United Kingdom 2024) 111 min
Directed by Peter Cattaneo
With Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce, Bruno Blas et al.
Based on the real-life story of a guy named Tom Michell, PENGUIN LESSONS showcases Steve Coogan as that guy, a shy teacher of English trying to teach entitled rich kids at a boarding school in Argentina. During a break, Michell travels to Uruguay where he ends up rescuing a penguin from an oil spill. Not able to shake the animal, he ends up bringing it back home with him. It’s 1976 and a dictatorship is taking over the country, and so hiding anything, let alone a penguin, is definitely a liability. As you might tell, the film sets a comic plot against a dark and deadly period of history, not an easy task for the filmmakers. Coogan is, as always, a delight, supported by a strong cast who serve the movie well as characters caught in a brutal historical moment. The penguin is, of course, irresistible.