Penguin Bloom

I'm a para, like Sam Bloom in the movie. About the same level, too--T6 ,T8. But not as a result of the same sort of accident. I've been in a chair a little longer, going on 33 years now. I've found movies depicting disability of one kind or another usually contrived but this one was refreshingly not so and rang true to me. At least for folks like Sam and I with paraplegia. I have many friends that are quadriplegics, and they do not share the same abilities that we do. Despite that, dealing with a major disability when you have a family (I had 2 kids, ages 3 and 1 when my illness struck) is hard. Luckily family and a few good friends helped me move on, and so did my old Lab, Rocky, along with my love for the water and sports. So this movie hit home for me. Hopefully those who watch it will never suffer similar circumstances as Sam or I have endured, but if you live long enough you'll probably have someone close to you that will. The movie tells a good story about the hurdles and triumphs we all face at one time or another, If you find the movie boring, well, watch it again. In 20 years...

I feel the critics are far off the bat with this one. Perhaps they have not been invested in this magical experience like those of us who have grown watching this story.

I've been following Penguin Bloom on Instagram for years now, since Penguin was still with the Bloom family.

This film captures this family's story well. Ignore the critics and those without the context.

A beautiful film.

A tragic story turned awe-inspiring, surrounded by love... love of family, love of nature, love of, yes, a bird. Loved it!

This movie is very much a "Sunday Movie". One that you and the whole family would sit down to watch all cozied up.

It is lovely and quite emotional.

I think it's PG rating does show ever so slightly with some of the humour being a little bit childish. I mean it tends to come from the kids so maybe it was a choice.

The acting was good but nothing to write home about. I really enjoyed the young lead. I thought he was great and made the character believable and likeable.

I think you could watch it. It was pretty good

In the drama genre Penguin Bloom is a good movie. So if that's the genre you like the most you can't really go wrong with this movie. It's not my favorite genre but nevertheless I liked it as well. It's a gripping story, based on true events (pictures from the real Blooms in the end credits), played perfectly well by Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln (finally in something better than The Walking Dead), and their kids in this movie. But the star of the show (or should I say stars as there were ten different ones) is definitely the magpie. That's what makes this movie enjoyable to watch, at least for me as an animal lover. The story can be a bit cheesy at times but the magpie made that all seem futile. The fact that it's based on a true story makes it a bit special, like always with these kind of stories.