You’re still you, Sam
Based on a unique true story, Penguin Bloom (2020) is a film about courage, perseverance, and finding the path to happiness.
In this article, I share my penguin bloom movie summary. I hope you will have a lot of fun watching this film later.
What is the movie Penguin Bloom about?
The script was based on the book Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family. It was written by the husband of the film’s main character, Cameron Bloom, in collaboration with the famous Australian writer Bradley Trevor Grieve.
A vacation in Thailand ends in tragedy for the Bloom family. First, mom Sam falls from a great height and is paralyzed from the waist down. After that, life cannot be the same.
Tragedy.
Every day, I wish we’d never gone on that bloody roof!
The reasons for the tragedy in the film are set out accurately. In 2013, Sam Bloom leaned on the railing of the balcony of the observation deck of one of the Thai resorts. The tree rotted from the rains and could not stand it, and the woman fell from a height of more than six meters.
The police told the family that the balcony had not been properly maintained.
The film begins with the family continuing their attempts to adapt to new realities. The heroine’s husband constantly looks depressed, the eldest son blames himself for his mother’s fall, and the other two children are still small, but they are well aware that their mother can no longer be a part of their daily life, as before.
Depression.
A big fan of outdoor activities, hiking, surfing, running, and cycling, Sam was deprived of all these pleasures and became dependent on others, her wheelchair, and drugs.
Real Sam admits in an interview that she felt like a burden to the family and a lousy wife and mother.
One day, the oldest son Noah brings home a magpie chick that has fallen out of its nest. Because of their boundless kindness, the children immediately decide to tame the bird. Several names are suggested, but Noah demands that she be named Penguin due to her black-and-white coloration.
After some time, a bizarre and surprisingly quick-witted bird wins the hearts of children and adults.
Life with chick.
Keeping birds alive is a job that not everyone can do. Therefore, to get their new pet, the Blooms did extensive research, read a lot of articles and books, and even turned to a veterinarian for help.
First, it turned out that the Penguin is not a magpie, but an Australian whistling crow, which is often confused with each other because of the coloring. Next, the Blooms learned that these birds are omnivores, but as the chick grows, it needs remarkable protein-rich insects in quantities greater than its weight.
As reflected in the film, there were nights when the family thought that the chick would not live to see the morning. But, people have witnessed how the bird grows and strengthens over time. And one day, he made his first flight into the living room.
The role of the Penguin was played by eight live chicks, one animatronic doll, and several computer models. However, the latter takes up to a couple of seconds in the film.
Sam develops an unusual friendship with the Penguin. Both of them have serious physical injuries. One wing of the Penguin was twisted at an unnatural angle when the bird fell, making its flight seem impossible.
Penguin disappearance.
One day, the bird flies away, and the heartbroken Bloom family spends weeks mourning the sudden loss of a family member. But regardless, life moves on.
Soon, when the family returns from an exciting walk, they find the Penguin waiting for them on the front lawn. The bird spends all day with the Blooms and eats popcorn from their hands while the family watches TV.
The following day, on the lawn, the bird perches on Sam’s arm for the last time and then flies away.
The Penguin’s actions in this scene are surprisingly human-like. It is the bird’s way of saying goodbye to the family. And now it’s time for her to leave the nest forever.
The Penguin returns to let the Blooms know he’s all right and give them the sense of completion they’ve been desperately looking for. The bittersweet scene ends with Sam saying “thank you” to the bird, acknowledging that Penguin has given her and her family positive life changes.
Future.
While tending to a weak, injured bird, Sam starts working out his issues. She has always loved the water and spent her childhood near the coast. So Sam starts taking kayaking lessons about when Penguin takes his first flight.
I didn’t think I was strong enough to get through it myself, but I am.
After a lot of training, Sam Bloom adapted to her injury and continued to play sports. The woman took up paracanoeing, eventually began to compete, ranked 13th in the world, and won two Australian titles. She also represented Australia at the Paracanoing World Championships in Italy in 2015.
Also, she was able to surf again. Her determination led to Bloom being selected for the Australian Adaptive Surfing Team. In addition, she won gold medals for her country at the 2019 and 2020 Parasurf World Championships.
IMDB rating 6.8. Directed by Glendyn Ivin, stars Naomi Watts, Andwer Lincoln, and Griffin Murray-Johnston.
Is Penguin still with the Blooms?
The Blooms never tried to keep the chick inside the house; on the contrary, the windows were always open, and the Penguin flew out without hindrance, sometimes disappearing for several hours.
However, for the first six months, the bird returned home and spent the night in its reed nest,
Ten months after his rescue, Penguin was already quietly flying away from home and sometimes did not return for several days or weeks.
The story of the Bloom family says that the beloved bird has not returned to their home since 2015.
The average life expectancy of Australian whistler ravens is 25 years, so the Blooms do not give up hope of seeing their pet again.
This fantastic story prompted the Blooms to bring out many more orphaned chicks.
Where to watch?
You can watch this picture on Netflix. Also, amazon prime offers DVDs and blu-ray for sale.
Wow! Realistic movie about disability.
Behind the outwardly benign history of the Bloom Family lies a story about how to survive depression, not only for the person who directly encountered it but also for his close people.
There will always be ups and downs in life; it’s inevitable. But there is nothing worse than being trapped in inertia. This is exactly what happened to the Blooms until Noah found the Penguin.
Initially, this story is similar to a fairy tale in which a wonderful bird brings a new life to the heroine. But in reality, everything is more complex.
At the tale’s beginning, the Blooms are eaten up with guilt: Sam for not being able to live normally anymore, Noah for insisting on climbing onto the observation roof, and the others because they can’t help Sam and don’t understand what to do next.
Of course, the chick spreading its wings also rhymes with the state of Sam herself – at first scared, then, thanks to proper support, gaining self-confidence. Such that even her husband’s stupid offer to go kayaking no longer looks ridiculous.
My favorite scene.
Shortly after the first disappearance of the bird, a conflict occurs between Sam and Noah. As mentioned above, Noah blames himself for Sam’s accident.
However, the worst thing is that he thinks his mother blames him too because he misinterprets his mother’s desperation for her physical and emotional pain as an accusation against him.
Sam does the only thing available to her in this situation. She asks her son a direct question. Then, after the release of pain and anger, healing begins.
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If you are curious about the Bloom family and their story – check out the official website and Instagram.
Final words.
This film does not proclaim the story of a strong woman. Instead, it quietly and gently talks about the difficulties anyone can face. The picture will appeal to those looking for positive emotions and a solid motivational charge.
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This sounds like such a sweet movie. I love a good movie about animals.