Hate to break it to you, but there appear to be zero penguins in Netflix’s upcoming film Penguin Bloom. The penguin in question is, in fact, an injured bird that the Bloom family adopts.
With that disappointing news out of the way, we can focus on the actual plot. Based on the book by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive, Penguin Bloom is about the aforementioned Bloom family, whose life was altered in 2013 when the matriarch, Samantha Bloom (Naomi Watts in her native Australian accent), fell off of a rooftop on a family trip to Thailand and was paralyzed from the chest down. Sam, a lifelong outdoors woman, surfer, and traveler, suddenly found herself with an unexpected future. While she grapples with her new reality, her husband, Cameron (Andrew Lincoln) and her children must also deal with the new situation.
A year after the accident, her children bring home an injured magpie they name Penguin. Sam quickly identifies with the injured bird, beginning a process of emotional healing that ripples throughout their family. Directed by Glendyn Ivin and based on a true story, Penguin Bloom’s beautiful Australian vistas and heartwarming tale may be a welcome respite in these snowy winter months.
See the trailer below and watch Penguin Bloom on Netflix on January 27.
