Gracias.
Hey.
Hola.
Whoa!
I'm the new
English teacher.
Gracias.
Mr. Michell.
Leave your bags. We'll take them
to your accommodation.
-Ah! Mitchell.
-Mr. Buckle.
Welcome
to St George's.
Timothy Buckle.
Headmaster, known as Timbuk.
-It's, uh, Michell.
-Yes.
How was your flight?
Good. Uneventful.
expl*si*n-free.
Ah, yes, I heard that
from my office.
Another b*mb, I expect.
-Another?
-Oh, yes. Argentina's in chaos.
A military coup
is imminent.
Now, we're thinking of putting
you up in Chaucer Wing.
Follow me.
A crackdown by the military
has not gone down too well
with the countless
revolutionary factions.
Trouble on the streets,
economy in free fall,
the government
are losing control.
It's a ghastly business.
"Don't let the bastardos
grind you down".
-Come again?
-I saw some graffiti
on the wall outside.
It doesn't matter.
Well, we try to keep out
of it all, you know?
Very much a small "p"
when it comes to politics
here in St George's.
Lots of rich families
send their sons here.
-Understand?
-Yes.
Excellent.
Thank you for
coming on board
at such late notice.
English teachers like you
are in short supply
over here these days.
Anyway, I haven't had
a chance to read your CV.
Where have you been lately?
Um,
I was teaching in Ecuador,
and before that
Venezuela and Brazil,
and before that Chicago,
so I've been steadily
working my way down.
-Hm?
-Geographically speaking.
Oh. Yes, yes.
Well, you're up here,
room 23.
No loud music,
no smoking, no pets.
-End of lecture. Hear, hear.
-Huh.
Now, we have a meeting
in the common room
at 1630 hours.
Don't be late.
Pet peeve.
Welcome.
Hola?
Hola?
Hola?
It's definitely
all my fault.
Yes, it's your fault.
Well, you heard
that all right.
I bet your husband
does as he's told.
-No, he's gone.
-You didn't k*ll him, did you?
No, cancer.
Oh. Right.
Well, sorry to hear that.
Welcome,
welcome to St George's.
Hey. You're Michell, right?
I'm Tapio.
I'm a physics master
from Finland.
"Good day" in Finnish.
A lot of umlauts in that.
- Sorry, are... are we roommates?
- No.
It's just that
you walked right in.
I was just being friendly.
Oh. Okay.
-You have the terrace.
-Yeah.
Maybe we can have
parties out here.
You have any vodka?
There's a bottle of gin
in the kitchen on the side.
Help yourself.
Gin.
Well, yes.
So the boys here,
they're very privileged
and spoiled.
And Mr. Timbuk, the headmaster,
believes he's Napoleon.
Hm.
He was very nice to me.
Some people have
two sides to them.
Mm. Even Josef Mengele was
a nice doctor to some people.
In fact,
doesn't he live around here?
Yeah, there were
a lot of Nazis
emigrating to this
part of the world
after the Second World w*r.
Not very funny.
But also funny.
Icelandic fishermen,
commercial whaling,
the hydrogen b*mb,
the political situation
here in Argentina.
Whatever strong
opinions you may have,
I strongly urge you to
keep them to yourselves
and don't bore the rest
of us with them. Hm?
- Hear, hear.
- Hear, hear.
Now, we are joined this term
by Mr. Tom Michell.
Hello.
Michell will
teach English.
Hola.
Now, I've assigned you
to Woolsey House,
where you'll be in charge
of the Lower Fourth Remove.
Oh. And I've also
got you down
as assistant rugby coach
to the under-14 second team.
That may be a problem,
Headmaster.
Because?
I don't know
anything about rugby.
In fact, I...
I actively dislike it.
Why's that?
I like my ba*ls round.
Excellent. Yes.
Sit down, please.
So, English from now on.
Let's begin by you
telling me your names.
Uh, you.
What's your name?
Ernesto Castillo.
Ernesto.
The importance
of being Ernesto.
Oscar Wilde.
So, uh... you.
What's your name?
Quiet, please.
- Diego.
- Diego.
And what did you do
at the weekend, Diego?
Did you go to the park?
Did you go to the shops?
Did you dress up as an astronaut
and go to the Moon?
-No.
-No what?
I did not go to the Moon.
That was me
being sarcastic.
That was...
There are different
forms of sarcasm.
Uh, to be sarcastic,
you can employ
one of the following.
Metaphor, bathos,
puns, parody,
hyperbole, litotes
and satire.
So I'd like you
to write down
a sarcastic sentence
in English,
employing any one of
those forms of humor.
And I will look in
this English newspaper
for some sarcasm...
for us all to discuss.
All right. Scrum down.
-No!
-What, sir? Why?
Scrum? What for?
-Forward pass.
-For who?
Ernesto.
-No, he didn't.
-No, I didn't.
-He didn't.
-Didn't he?
No!
Okay, I thought
he did. Um...
Look, why don't you
keep playing by yourselves
for another 15 minutes,
then get into groups
of three or four
and discuss why
it's important in rugby
to use oval-shaped ba*ls
and not spherical.
Okay?
I'm gonna check on the rules
about forward passes.
- Michell? You in there?
- Come in.
What are you feeling about
this crazy but serious day?
Oh, yeah.
I woke up this morning
to the theme from
Monty Python's Flying Circus
and there's all this
marching band music.
It's martial music,
like all the music on
every channel today.
There's been a coup.
The boys are
being sent home.
-The college is shut for a week.
-Well, that's good news.
The situation is
very serious.
There have been reports
of shootings.
The generals
have taken control.
The army are fighting
the Montoneros guerrillas.
Next, they will round up
all of the left-wingers,
unionists, activists,
intellectuals.
We got a week off?
Until this situation
becomes clearer.
Say goodbye to
freedom and democracy.
Week.
Say hello to fear,
intimidation...
-I might go to Uruguay.
-...and brutality.
-To Uruguay?
-Yeah, for a couple of days.
Why do you want
to go to Uruguay?
Uh, you know,
architecture, history.
-Really?
-Yes.
Actually, this is a good idea.
Because there's very little
practically that we can do here,
and Uruguay
fascinates me very much.
It became independent
of Spain in 1811,
but it's a common
misconception.
It became
an independent nation
-at this moment...
-Uh...
...because it was
immediately
annexed by Brazil
until 1825.
I'm only partially
interested
in the history and
architecture of Uruguay.
I mainly want to get
away from this place,
go dancing, drinking,
maybe meet
a couple of ladies.
That's, uh, probably
not your sort of thing.
Uh, I would still
like to go with you.
Isn't it interesting?
All these people
on their journeys.
All with their
stories to tell.
I just find people's personal
circumstances so interesting.
Don't you?
Uh...
No.
I do.
Even for example, e.g.,
at some point I would
like to know your story.
Interesting.
People's lives.
Why we end up
where we do.
One door closes
and another door closes.
Okay, what's her name?
Who?
The woman that you're
desperate to tell me about.
Annie.
Girlfriend?
Wife.
She left me.
For Alexei.
Is he better looking?
Slightly, I suppose.
Richer?
Yeah.
More fun?
I don't know, maybe.
Bigger c*ck?
This is now not funny.
I lost my wife
and I lost my best friend.
Look, they'll
probably split up.
You really think so?
Yeah, but then what?
People break up
for whatever reason,
and then they wanna
get back with you,
but you say no because
of everything that happened.
And then one day
you think,
well, maybe
I will try again,
but it's too late
'cause she's moved on.
Anyway...
none of it matters
anymore, does it?
Or something like that.
-I like you, Michell.
-Do you?
I don't.
I think this place
has a bad reputation.
Sordid and
pleasure-seeking.
Yeah, I know.
You still wanna go in,
though, right?
-Yes, very much.
-Good, good.
Annie was a really
good dancer. A week from today,
it'll be eight years since
we had our first dance.
There are two ladies
over my right.
We were so
happy together.
We loved to hike.
Then one day, she said
she was going to
buy some bread.
She never came home
and I never saw her again.
Suddenly I was alone.
-And with no bread.
-Yeah.
I was sad and hungry.
I remember.
It's good you've
been able to let it go.
Now, over my right shoulder
there are two ladies.
-Those two over there?
-I could have pointed.
I was trying to
be subtle.
They are walking
towards us.
Compliment my dancing.
Pretty good dancing.
Yeah, yeah,
he moves well.
Please. But thank you.
He is quite supple.
I only saw three mistakes.
-I'm Carina.
-I'm Tom.
Stamina, discipline,
pelvic thrust.
And this is Tapio.
Yeah, we're teachers
here on a break,
and to avoid
getting blown up.
Okay, welcome to Uruguay.
I think this place
is full of lost souls.
Does that
include all of us?
Maybe.
I think everyone who comes here
is looking for something.
What are you looking for?
Well, I'm like
Ernest Hemingway,
but with no money
and haven't
written any books.
So people say elements
in a periodic table
cannot be changed.
That's a common
misconception.
They actually can
during fission or fusion.
Anyway,
who cares, right?
No, I think
it's interesting.
Yeah. Yeah?
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Your friend
left so suddenly.
He got the early ferry.
He's got a broken heart.
My friend
really liked him.
He's boring.
It's so beautiful at
this time in the morning.
I come to the beach
when I want to think
about nothing.
Yeah, I'd... I'd love
to think about nothing.
Hey, Ernest Hemingway.
Hm?
The Old Man and the Sea.
Well, I'm not...
I'm not that old.
All right, middle-aged?
Yeah, middle-aged man
and the sea. Yeah.
You know what?
I have a feeling about you.
Everything you
deflect away.
But I think you
have hidden depths.
Oh, no, I'm...
I'm pretty shallow, really.
Oh, sh*t.
- What's this?
- This is oil, I think.
From a spill.
They're penguins.
Oh, boy!
Oh, my God, this little
one is still alive.
Poor thing.
Oh. That's...
Oh, that's terribly sad.
But, you know,
there's nothing we can do.
It's frustrating, but...
It's... You can't really
interfere with nature.
I'll never get this
crap off my shoe.
I've bad luck with shoes.
-An oil slick is not nature.
-Sorry?
All these penguins
are k*lled by us,
the human beings.
We have to at least do something
for this little guy.
But I think he's as
good as dead already.
It's not like we can take
him to the hotel room.
Let's get
you cleaned up.
All right. Um...
- The shower.
- The soap.
- Wash him up.
- Lather.
- This should do the job.
- I'll get the water.
Good boy.
How do you know it's a boy?
Don't answer that.
-There you go.
-Should I make it warm?
No, cold.
- You sure isn't it hot?
- It's tepid.
Work it into his feathers.
They're horrible. Oil.
Well, that's nice,
isn't it, Mr. Penguin?
-He seems a bit happier now.
-Yes.
Christ!
-Ooh!
-Jesus!
b*stard!
I honestly think it would
be kinder to drown him.
Maybe he's just trying
to show affection.
That's what I do.
Okay.
There you go.
Yeah.
Now that's resourceful.
All nice and clean.
There you go.
This is good.
Okay.
You're a happy
penguin now.
Look at those lovely
white feathers.
Beautiful.
You like that,
don't you?
I think we can untie
his beak now.
Yeah?
Has he said
the safe word?
It's okay, he trusts me.
Ah...
See?
You just need to show him
some affection.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
I'm sorry.
I have to go now.
You're kidding. Why?
Because I'm married.
You're married, okay.
I mean...
I'm quite pragmatic
about these things.
I came out tonight
for some fun
and I thought I could
go through with this.
But I can't.
I hope you can understand.
-I'm sorry.
-Don't be sorry.
Goodbye.
Adios.
Hey, what about
the penguin?
Okay.
Off you go.
Thanks for the souvenir.
Go and join
your penguin friends.
Go.
Go and be free
in the sea.
Go away.
Adios.
Adios.
Sorry.
Where is he from?
Is he yours?
Sorry. Who?
That penguin.
A penguin?
That one.
Is he your pet?
Oh!
No, I don't know
where he's from.
Yeah, yeah, you were
with him next to the sea.
Really?
Okay, I've known him
for less than a day.
I rescued him
from an oil slick.
You rescued him
from an oil slick?
-Yeah.
-He rescued him.
Now he thinks
he's my friend,
but he's not my friend.
Well, you can't leave
your penguin here.
He's not my penguin.
I don't like penguins.
Then why did you
save his life?
Because I was trying
to impress a woman
I wanted to have sex with.
Now I've ended up with
no sex and a penguin.
I'm sorry to interrupt,
but I'm in a bit of a hurry.
I want to check out.
I called down earlier
for the bill.
Glacial.
Uh, yes, that's fine.
Thank you. I'd like to pay.
I've left
my wallet in my room.
I don't need that.
There he is.
And I thought it was probably
ill*gal to own a penguin,
which is why I left him
in the room.
Sir, you have to take
the penguin with you.
I don't have to take
the penguin with me.
If you don't take the penguin
with you, I will arrest you.
Yeah? On what charge?
I will just arrest you.
Well, I'll take...
Obviously, I will take it.
Buenos dias.
Uh, no.
Gracias.
Stop! Stop, sir!
What was that?
What is in your bag?
Show me now.
Okay, I was going to speak
with someone about this.
To cut a long story short,
I want to claim asylum for him.
Asylum?
Yes, uh, in a zoo.
Okay.
You can take him.
But you must pay import fee.
Dollars only.
-Dollars?
-$50.
Oh. I...
I don't have $50.
How much do you have?
Um...
Oh, yeah. Uh, none.
So you cannot take him.
Really?
Oh, that's...
Well, I tried my best.
Uh... That's... I suppose
if I can't take him, then...
Damn, that's so sad.
Oh, well. Um...
Sorry, little fella. Um...
I'm afraid it's adios.
Hey. What is his name?
Peter.
-Peter Penguin?
-Yeah.
-Okay, you can take him.
-It's okay.
You have your job to do.
Please, you take Peter.
I don't want to get in
trouble, it's fine.
-You take Peter.
-It's okay.
Take the f*cking penguin.
I don't want him.
I will arrest you.
On what charge...
For Christ's sakes!
Come on, Peter.
Buenas t*rd.
Ah, Michell!
-The chap I wanted to see.
-Headmaster, I was hoping...
Now, I'm painfully aware
that we've yet to have that
chat about targets.
You know where
we want the boys
to be in terms
of performance.
-Yeah.
-Are you all right?
Yeah, sorry, I just
saw a bird of prey.
I can't tell if
it's a kite or an eagle.
Can't see a thing.
Well, it's quite simple.
Your job is to get the boys
up to O-level standard.
And as far as I can see,
they are some way off.
Mm-hm.
You have a passion for
our feathered friends?
Uh...
I dabble. Yeah.
Ah. Right. Well, your boys,
they have to pull
their socks up.
And quite frankly,
Michell, so do you.
-Mm?
-Loud and clear.
Good. Well, off you go.
Cheers.
Huh.
Here you go. Smell this.
Smell this.
I'll take that as a no.
What?
It's because you smell.
Good night.
Here we go.
Well, here you are.
This is your area for now.
Bathroom at night,
terrace in the day.
Yeah.
Um...
No?
You know, fussy eaters
eventually become food
for less fussy eaters.
So, eat here
and sh*t here.
"To be, or not to be,
that is the question."
In other words,
should I be here
or not be here?
"Whether 'tis nobler
in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows
of outrageous fortune..."
...or to take
arms against a sea of troubles
by opposing, end them."
A sea of troubles.
...an example
of a sea of troubles?
Okay, Lopez,
Dominguez, what's going on?
Nothing, sir.
What are you
doing to Diego?
It's just a game.
We're soldiers
and he's Montoneros.
My father says we fight a w*r
with the socialist pigs.
So we just play.
We're the soldiers
and he's Montoneros.
Right? Huh?
Untie him now.
We need to stop relying
on the present tense.
It's lazy.
So, Ramiro,
I am a socialist pig.
Can you give me
a couple of first-person
past tenses, please?
I was...
I have been, and I used
to be a socialist pig.
Good.
Now, from a...
For the purposes
of this exercise,
a socialist pig's point
of view, of course,
Ramiro's father would be,
let's say, no offense,
uh, a fascist brute.
Yeah, let's use that.
Uh, Diego, as the nominated
socialist pig,
can you throw in
a future perfect, please?
Ramiro's father
was, has been,
and will have been
a fascist brute.
Excellent. Yeah.
See what you can achieve
when you apply yourselves?
450...
500,000.
So your first month wages.
Two and half
million pesos.
Oh.
Argentina, where
everyone's a millionaire.
So, you must spend all
of it straight away, yes?
It is important
you buy lots of things,
then you bring them
back to me to show me.
I'll be sure to have
a good look round.
You can count on it.
Muchas gracias.
Oh.
You have been shopping, senor?
Yes, a few bits and bobs.
Make sure
you drive a hard bargain.
In this life,
nobody gets
what they deserve.
They only get
what they negotiate.
So, uh, how much?
No, please. On the house.
-Gracias.
-De nada.
Pack of playing cards.
Dart board, uh,
three darts,
which was all they had,
but all you need,
and a long shoehorn,
which I can highly recommend.
A shoehorn?
Yeah. If you're over 50
and you wear slip-ons,
it'll change your life.
You never have
to bend over again.
Shoe-wise.
-Is that it?
-Yeah.
What is that?
That's just a pair of shoes
and some sprats.
Sprats?
Yeah, I like sprats.
You have to spend all of it,
don't you understand?
I thought I'd spend
some this month
and save the rest
till next month
when I find
something I want.
You don't listen
to what I say.
By Monday, that
money I gave you
will be worth
half of what it is now.
Really?
You will have to go
shopping again.
-Fine.
-Okay.
I can give you
a pair of socks for it.
For what?
The shoehorn.
Nuh.
Okay.
Two pair of socks,
orange color.
Final offer.
Look.
Hello!
Ah. Okay. Okay. Uh...
Keep that out
and that shut.
Although I suppose it's all
the same thing to you, isn't it?
Just a minute!
- Hello.
- Hello.
This is my
granddaughter Sofia.
Oh. Granddaughter, wow.
Yeah. I think
we met before briefly
when I didn't hear
what she was saying.
But I don't really need
any cleaning today, thank you.
Do you want us
to lose our jobs?
Uh, okay,
well maybe just a quick
swish around the kitchen.
You must open the curtain.
It's very dark
and sad in here.
No, no, I don't
like the sunshine.
-These are yours?
-Yes, why?
I don't know, they look
very old-fashioned.
Yeah, no,
some people confuse
fashion with style...
-...which is of course timeless.
-What is that?
It's just some boys
throwing stuff.
What is this?
That's a lot of questions.
That's, uh, some...
-sh*t.
-Whose is it?
Uh, well, it's not mine.
I'd definitely be seeing
a doctor if that was...
It's bird sh*t.
Bird sh*t?
It's a big bird.
Yes, it is a big bird.
Um...
Because it's a penguin.
It's penguin sh*t.
What is he doing here?
I found him in Punta del Este
covered in oil.
I cleaned him up
and brought him back here.
- Why?
- To take him to the zoo.
I tried to release
the bloody thing into the sea,
but it wouldn't go.
Does he have a name?
Well,
I flirted with Peter,
but I prefer just
The Penguin.
No, he must have a name.
I know.
We should call him
Juan Salvador Gaviota.
He reminds me to the
main character of that book,
a seagull who
must learn to fly.
Salvador. It mean savior.
It's a good name.
Ah. Well, Juan Salvador
Gaviota it is.
It's just Juan Salvador.
It's okay.
Well, if I can
keep him alive
long enough to
get him to a zoo,
I'll consider it a job done.
- Keep alive?
- Yeah.
I've been trying
to feed him.
He hasn't eaten a thing
since I found him.
Yeah, I did try that.
Let me try.
And why do you want
to lock him up in the zoo?
Well, it's not
a case of wanting
to lock him up,
is it? It's just...
I want to put him somewhere
he can be taken care of,
and now that's generally
regarded as a zoo, so...
-Just obeying the rules.
-And you always obey the rules.
I'm the one
that rescued him.
So now you have
a responsibility towards him.
Oh.
She's really
your granddaughter.
Sometimes in life, Sofia,
things don't work out
quite the way
you want them to,
and you have to
take measures
which aren't ideal.
You should be a spokesman
for the military.
Right.
Just for the record,
fascism is one of my
least favorite things.
Really? I haven't seen you
in any march recently.
Because I'm a teacher,
and this is not my country.
And you are happy to take work
and money from this...
I've learned to keep
that out, that shut
and that's served me
quite well so far.
Well, I'm a cleaner
and I speak out with this
about the bullshit
I smell with this.
When bad people
do bad things,
I expect it.
When good people
do nothing,
I just want to f*cking
punch them in the face.
No, wait, please.
Both of you.
Stay. Stay
and have some lunch.
Why?
Because...
I haven't had
a good argument
in a very long time,
and, uh...
Well, I miss it.
So stay.
I'll make you
sausage mash
and onion gravy.
Good imperialist
British food,
foisted mercilessly
upon the colonies.
Wait, he's eating.
How did you do that?
Now he won't die.
Good.
You just need
to be his friend.
Ah.
Yes, of course.
- Okay.
- Here.
Let's have a go.
Juan Salvador!
You know,
I used to be young
and idealistic
like you, Sofia.
But, uh...
life changes you.
Then I look forward to
being old and cynical.
Mm.
Fusion is when
two atoms collide
to create an even
heavier atom.
Hola.
Now,
"I must go down
To the sea again
To the lonely sea and sky
And all I ask is a tall ship
A star to steer her by."
What does John Masefield
mean by that?
Igor.
Sir, you have a pinguino
on your desk.
English, please.
It's a penguin,
and his name is
Juan Salvador.
Why do you have a penguin
on your desk?
To get you all to
pay attention.
And I think it's worked.
Yes, Walter.
But where did you get
the penguin from?
I found him.
And let's just keep this between
ourselves for the time being.
If anyone finds out,
he'll be confiscated.
Look, I'll make you a deal.
If you spend
the rest of this lesson
helping me figure out
what this poem actually means,
then I'll let you
all feed him
some fish at lunchtime.
Deal?
Well, go on,
nod your heads.
Juan Salvador, deal?
Yes, he's okay
with that.
All right, so, concentration
from now on, please.
Right.
"And the wheel's kick
and the wind's song
and the white
sail's shaking
and a grey mist
on the sea's face
and a grey dawn breaking."
Sea-Fever,
by John Masefield.
One of my favorites.
But, uh, what's it about?
I'll give you a clue.
Yes, Igor.
Can we put
the penguin in a box?
-No.
-Can we take it for a bike ride?
-No.
-Can we put him in the pool?
Yes, please, sir!
Sir, the penguin
came from the sea.
Just like the poem.
Maybe he'd like to
swim in the pool.
Yeah, please.
We're not going to put
him in the pool.
Why not?
Because it's
against the rules.
Yes, um...
Ramiro's correct.
So, the poem. A clue.
It's not just about ships,
and it's not just
about the sea.
Any ideas?
Come on, concentrate.
Think of Juan Salvador,
the wide ocean before him,
just going wherever
the wind takes him.
-Diego.
-Is it a metaphor, sir?
Very good.
A metaphor. For what?
To be free.
Mm. Yes.
Very good. Freedom.
Freedom!
Freedom from what?
What do we mean
by freedom?
Freedom from... idiots?
From school?
Freedom from tyranny?
From yourself?
Okay, get the sprats.
One at a time.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
No, no, hey.
Diego is in charge of
feeding Juan Salvador.
Yeah.
But why do you
choose him?
Because I'm a dictator.
Give him the bucket.
Juan Salvador...
He looks hungry.
Flashlights.
Oh, hello.
The bursar has a thing
about flashlights.
Yes, yes, he does.
He also has a thing
about shoehorns now,
if we're swapping
bursar gossip.
-He's weird.
-I know.
He prefers it that
we are in the middle ages
and we barter
everything.
Is that something
I should be looking out for?
Some fresh figs.
My grandmother's favorite.
Would you like?
Thank you.
And how is Juan Salvador?
He's, uh, very well. Yes.
Now he's started eating,
he won't stop.
I was thinking maybe
I could look after him.
And he don't have
to go to the zoo.
I will be his mother.
That's, uh...
That's very kind,
but I do think the zoo
is the best place for him.
-Would you think about it?
-Sure.
Uh, uh...
By the way,
I wanted to say
I... I admired you
the other day
for fighting your corner.
You showed great spirit.
My grandmother says
this will get me
into trouble.
You should listen to her,
she's a wise woman.
She's been through a lot,
losing a daughter
and husband.
My grandfather?
He lives in Cordoba.
She told me he was dead.
Mm. Yeah, she says that
because he left her
for a fat woman.
Anyway, I must
go back to work.
- You come?
- Uh, no,
I've got to get
some more sprats
from the fishmongers.
Sorry.
Tom!
Tom!
Help me!
Tom!
They grabbed
her off the street?
Yes.
Did she call out?
Um...
Yes.
And I was not
there to help her.
But, sir,
what did my sister say?
She cried out
for help, I think. Uh...
I wanted to push through
the crowd to help her, but...
there were too many
people and...
As I say, it was all
over very quickly.
I'm sorry.
So, what
happens now, Mr. Timbuk?
Are you going to write
to the authorities?
She's an employee of
the college, after all.
Yes, she works
for the college, sir.
Subcontractor, actually.
But the boys
here have fathers
who can talk to
the right person
in the government
to help us.
Yes,
yes, of course.
But the whole thing's become,
well, rather complicated
by some news
I received this morning.
It's bad news, actually.
The Montoneros have kidnapped
the father of Mateo Simeone,
one of our sixth formers.
I think
it's some kind of tit for tat
for all the government
arrests lately.
Like Sofia? No, no.
The two sides
are not equal.
The Montoneros target a few.
But the government,
they take thousands
from the street.
But the thing is,
senor Simeone is
a parent representative
on the school's board
of governors,
so we have to tread lightly.
Because he's more
important than Sofia?
No, Maria,
not at all.
Because the Montoneros
are demanding a ransom
for his safe return
and the negotiations
are ongoing.
It's a filthy business.
As I'm sure
you can appreciate.
No, I do not
appreciate it, sir.
Come on.
We go now.
Come on, let's go.
I don't
get involved.
I didn't do anything
because I don't do anything.
It wouldn't have
any effect.
I can't prevent these
things from happening.
If I'd been
arrested as well,
would that have helped?
And I was scared, okay?
I was scared.
Michell?
Are you in there?
- Hey.
- Hey.
Do you have
a penguin in there?
What are you
talking about?
-A penguin.
-A penguin?
A penguin.
Yes.
How did you know?
I've been to Patagonia.
I could smell you,
Mr. Penguin.
You know that if Mr. Timbuk
finds out about him,
he's going to bring
all hell over your head.
It had occurred to me.
You think
he's listening to us?
No, he's an animal.
He just wants food
and somewhere to sleep.
No, no, no, no.
You know, the penguins,
they're very sensitive.
It's a common
misconception
that penguins
have no empathy.
But I believe,
at a certain strata,
he is aware
he owes his life to you.
Hm.
It's not an egg,
you dozy berk.
It's a bar of soap.
Juan Salvador?
...all these negative
thoughts from my head.
It's not that
I wish them any ill.
Annie and Alexei
are both nice people.
But actually...
I do wish them ill.
I sometimes wish Alexei
would meet with
a fatal accident
and Annie would be sad
and come back to me.
Does that make me
a bad person?
I don't think...
Uh...
I couldn't sleep.
I just needed to get
this monkey off my chest.
You shouldn't have
told him all that.
You know he can't
keep a secret.
Another joke?
No, he doesn't talk.
Hola.
Maria.
Why are you
working today?
Uh, I prefer to be busy.
Hello.
Hola. Hola.
-Do you want a coffee?
-Yes, thank you.
Come on.
Sofia,
she lived with me since
she was five years old.
Her mother gets sick,
her breast.
They cannot cure,
and she die.
People do not understand
the pain of this.
No.
No, they don't.
-Please.
-Thank you.
To my friends,
to my neighbors,
she has already gone.
They don't talk to me
because they are scared
to be connected
with her in any way.
The military,
they take you
just for thinking
another way.
They don't need a reason.
I cannot stop thinking.
Is she frightened?
Is she cold?
Is she hungry?
Today is Sofia's
favorite day.
She go to the football,
she go dancing.
Now she only
see iron bars.
-Uh, wait, it's Saturday.
-Saturday.
Saturday. Okay,
I have to take
Juan Salvador
to the zoo.
They've agreed to meet,
so I better get a move on.
You take Juan Salvador
to the zoo?
Yeah. It's the best place
for him, trust me.
I mean, you've smelt
the apartment.
Look at the carpet,
that's not the pattern.
That's his sh*t,
he's got to go.
I go with you.
To say goodbye.
Really?
I don't think
that's a good idea.
I lie about my husband,
he didn't die of cancer.
I know.
Sofia told me he left
you for a fat woman.
She was fat.
I think I will write a letter
to ask about Sofia,
so they know
I will never go away.
Yes, it's a good idea.
You should do that.
You can write it for me.
-I'm not sure.
-You are good with words.
-I don't think so.
-You can write it like a poem.
I don't think
the military dictatorship
is going to be
persuaded by a poem.
They probably think
poetry is boring.
Okay, I will write it.
Well, I don't mind
helping out.
So you are
the Penguin Man?
Yes, yes.
Uh, and you can
call me Tom.
And here's the penguin.
You decided not
to m*rder him.
Ah.
That was just
a jokey threat.
This way.
-Okay.
-No, no, no.
I don't want him
to go down there.
You can have a few minutes
to say your goodbye,
but I'm coming back for him.
He will have to go.
This is where
your penguin will be quarantined
before being introduced
to the other penguins.
Gosh, they're, uh, quite small,
aren't they, the cells?
How long will
he be here for?
The period is
for six weeks.
And good news,
we have a cell for him.
Right.
Um, six weeks.
I'm sure he'll get
used to it.
You get used to
anything in the end.
So, you come with me to sign
the release form, please.
Yes.
Yeah, yeah.
So, the thing is, um,
they don't have any
spaces at the moment,
so they can't take him.
Until something can
be sorted, they said,
"Best just
take him home."
Take him home?
Wait, um...
Uh...
-You all right?
-No, un poquito de water.
Okay, uh...
I think we should
get you home.
Oh. She had a funny turn.
She's over the worst of it.
Okay.
Got a bit too
much for her.
Oh, this is
my grandson's wife, Teresa.
And my little ones,
Jorgito and Claudia.
Hola, Jorgito.
Hola, Claudia.
This is senor Tom,
a teacher from the college.
Please, you stay
for some food?
Uh...
-Thank you, but I...
-You stay. You don't shame us.
Well, there you go.
I suppose I'm staying.
Oh! Um...
Come on.
Come say hello. Hello.
Come on.
This is Juan Salvador.
Come on. He's hungry.
He wants some food.
Mm!
And, um, what kind
of meat is this?
Tongue.
Right.
Here
where we live is called El Bajo.
The Low, that means The Low.
Yes, low down,
by the water.
It also means
we are the low people
who have not anything.
My great-grandfather
built this house,
but everything
he used he had to steal.
The brick, the wood...
But not because he's a thief,
because he's el bajo.
He built this house,
or his family sleep
on the street.
And this was your
great-grandfather?
-Yeah.
-And you all live here together?
Yeah.
I know that my children
will have to live here, too.
So we are
the same as the rich.
We pass our house down
through our family.
Do you have any children,
senor Tom?
Um...
Yes.
A daughter.
But, uh, we lost her.
It's interesting,
uh, how...
how, uh, people
won't eat tongue
because it's been inside
an animal's mouth,
but they're quite happy
to eat an egg,
which, you know,
has been...
Oh!
-Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
-...up a chicken.
-Funny.
-Yeah.
"To whom
it may concern,
regarding the recent
unpleasantness in the country,
I respectfully
request that you...
find an alternative
approach
to achieving a satisfactory
outcome for all concerned,
ideally avoiding,
if at all possible,
the t*rture and m*rder
of an innocent
19-year-old girl.
Apologies for
the inconvenience.
Uh...
Best wishes to
you and yours.
P.S. Why do you all
have moustaches?"
What do you think?
Catherine.
My daughter.
Knocked down and k*lled
by a drunk driver
when she was 13.
And that's not
even a joke.
I want Juan Salvador
to be the tallest person
in the room for a change.
You see, penguins only
ever see people's legs,
which means
they have to listen,
so... so let's try that.
"Seventeen years ago
you said
Something that sounded
Like Good-bye
And everybody thinks
You are dead
But I
So I,
as I grow stiff and cold
To this
And that say Good-bye, too
And everybody can see
That I am old
But you
And one fine day
Down a sunny lane
A boy and girl will meet
and kiss and swear
That nobody could love
Their way again
While over there
You will have smiled
And I will have tossed
Your hair."
Good lesson, sir.
-Bye.
-Thank you very much.
Bye, sir.
Bye.
"And these words
Shall then become
Like Oppression's
Thundered doom
Ringing through
Each heart and brain
Heard again, again, again
Rise like Lions
after slumber
In unvanquishable number
Shake your chains
To earth like dew
Which in sleep
Had fallen on you
Ye are many, they are few"
These aren't
just lofty words.
Shelley was actually
trying to say something.
Here,
Shelley is saying
that there are
so many of them,
he says they can't
possibly be beaten.
He uses the adjective
"unvanquishable".
It's emphatic that they cannot
be overcome or subdued.
"Ye are many"
so...
You know there
are many of them.
Walter, who are "ye"?
What "ye"
is Shelley asking to rise
like lions after slumber?
Everybody?
Yes, everybody.
All of us.
Shelley means,
what, most people.
When he wrote this,
people in England
were rioting
because they
were starving.
The money was being
spent on wars,
not on feeding the children.
So who then, Ramiro,
are they, the few?
Um, the leaders.
Yes.
Shelley is saying
if we, uh, rise
like lions against them
and all stand together,
we are...
unvanquishable.
So Shelley's warriors
are like lions.
They stand up and they
shake off their chains,
which he says
have fallen on them.
-Anna.
-Sorry to disturb you.
Mr. Buckle would
like to see you. Now.
Okay. Right now?
Please.
Okay.
-Ah.
-Ah.
Now,
it's not just that
the last set of
grades were low,
but that the content of
your lessons is becoming,
how shall I put it,
increasingly questionable.
I mean,
"Hamlet is an idiot.
Dickens is overrated.
Byron is a tart?"
I'm allowed to an opinion.
It's a free country.
It's not. I forgot.
Urging the boys
to rise like lions.
I see from your notes
that you intend to teach
Wilfred Owen
later on in the term.
Yes, the ironically titled
Dulce et decorum est.
Yes, well, you seem to be
deliberately focusing
on this antagonistic
sort of poetry.
Look, Michell,
I had you as
a head-down sort of fella,
anything for
a quiet life.
And what happened to you?
Mm?
I met a penguin.
What?
Sorry, I should
have told you earlier.
Good God.
And, um...
He's living with me.
What?
Look, you... you can't keep
a penguin in the college.
I've never actually seen
that written down.
Michell, are you having
some sort of breakdown?
I don't think so.
Well, it's insanity.
Not to mention insanitary.
I bought him a bath
and I've had him in class.
The boys respond
well to him.
No, no, no.
A line has been crossed.
Either you go
or the penguin goes.
You mean if I go,
the penguin can stay?
I said
either the penguin...
Either you or the...
Look, you and the penguin
both need to go.
"Please hear my voice.
I'm an old lady
and I don't
have many years left.
I have lived my life.
I have loved my family.
I have loved my country.
You have taken
my granddaughter,
Sofia Alvarez.
My beautiful granddaughter.
You don't let me see her.
I don't know where she is.
Please, I beg you,
take me in her place.
Please, let her
live her life,
and I can go into
prison where she is,
and my life
can end there."
Hola.
Hola.
Why are you come here,
senor Tom?
We came to wish you luck.
Ah.
My letter?
-Oh.
-You change it all for me?
-You make it better?
-I haven't changed a word.
It's better than anything
I could have written.
It will not make
any difference.
Perhaps not,
but at least your words
will be out there somewhere.
Did you hear?
Mateo's father
has been released.
The company he worked
for paid a ransom.
Even if they ask
for Sofia,
we don't have any money.
Um, Maria.
She called out my name
the day she was arrested.
And, uh,
I didn't go to her.
Maybe you could
not get to her?
No, I could have.
They would have
arrested you, too.
Maybe, but I didn't try.
I just did nothing,
and I'm sorry.
You'd better go.
Because
we don't know where she is.
Ah.
You're English?
Yes, I teach English
at St George's.
Have we met before?
This woman,
by the way,
she's a lovely girl
from a good
Argentinian family.
They pay their taxes,
they raise their children,
raise their family.
Well, in fact, this market
was the last place I saw her.
She was buying some figs
for her grandmother,
and then...
Well, I think...
I think you know her.
Huh.
Sofia Alvarez
is her name.
Mm.
Of course you know her.
You and your men
kidnapped her
and bungled her into
the car in broad daylight,
didn't you?
And I am asking you,
please,
to let her go.
Interesting.
Why would you speak
to me of this girl?
Hm?
Well, because the truth is,
and this is the truth,
I lost my daughter
some years ago.
Well, 17, to be precise.
Um...
Drunk driver.
It doesn't matter.
It was a pointless death.
It ruined my life
and her mother's,
and Sofia
reminded me of her.
And for that reason, I...
I wanted to try
and help her.
Mm.
And the penguin?
He's just a...
a weird pet.
Mm.
So you thought...
you'd come here
with your sad story
and your penguin, I...
and I will make
everything nice?
You should walk
away from me.
Right now.
It's a waste of a life.
You should go.
-Okay.
-Now.
Forgotten my penguin.
Ciao.
sh*t.
To hell and back.
What did they do to you?
You should see
the other guy.
Did you fight him?
No, it's just a thing
people say.
No, he's fine.
I mean, I think
he hurt his fist
when he was punching me,
which I was pleased about.
So, uh, is
Juan Salvador okay?
He's back
at the school.
By the way, Mr. Timbuk
knows you've been arrested.
Oh. Is he gonna
beat me up as well?
-Sit.
-Ah.
-You have ice?
-There's... Yeah.
You are
lucky to be released
after just one night.
This country
is at w*r with itself,
and everyone here
expects me to sort it out.
You know, I make hard
decisions, tough decisions.
It comes with the territory.
But I mean,
Michell has been
here five minutes
and everybody loves him.
Well, it's partly
because of you, of course.
But you see,
I don't have the camaraderie
of the common room.
And whenever I go in there...
...all goes quiet.
I mean, I try to put on
a happy face.
Hey, old fellow,
well met and all.
Even try to
make them laugh.
Have you met my wife,
"Timbuk two"?
Nothing.
Oh, I don't suppose
I should complain, really.
It's not too bad.
Hello.
Michell!
What in God's name do
you think you were doing?
What's happened to you?
Are you all right?
To be honest, I...
I haven't felt this good
in quite some time.
So I've asked
the Board of Governors
to raise with
the authorities
the question of
Sofia Alvarez's case.
Not strictly an employee,
as I've said before,
but I argued
she does come under
the general aegis
of the college
and as such we might
bend the rules a little.
I personally don't hold out
a great deal of hope,
but they're prepared
to do what they can.
Oh. Well, good.
Now, on the question
of letting people go,
you or anyone else,
that is, um,
on reflection,
I think a change
now might be...
too disruptive
for the boys.
And on balance,
it, um...
Well, it...
might be better
if you would stay.
Hm.
And that extends
to the penguin, too.
Juan Salvador?
Well, with his assistance,
you've made inroads.
And the boys' results
have improved.
They've gone from disastrous
to slightly below average.
Yes,
but the curve is upwards.
My eyes are
moist with emotion.
Please,
stay with us, Michell.
Hear, hear.
See?
I'm gonna tilt.
I never felt magic
crazy as this
I never saw moons
knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion
in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes
in the top of a tree
But now you're here
Brighten
my northern sky
I've been a long time
that I'm waiting
Penguin!
I've been a long time
that I'm blown
I've been a long time
that I've wandered
Through the people
I have known
Oh, if you would
and you could
Straighten my new
mind's eye
As we approach
the end of another year,
we salute those who made
their mark in 1976.
And we begin
with the prize for...
In first place,
Jorge Calando.
In second place,
Alvaro Diaz.
And in third place,
Walter Jimenez
from Lower Fourth Remove.
Igor...
Ramiro Lopez of
Lower Fourth Remove
gets the third place prize.
The annual
William Wordsworth Award
for Excellence in English
goes this year to...
Diego Camelia!
Well, that went
rather well.
People asked after you,
you were missed.
We didn't come bottom.
First time in a long time,
Lower Fourth Remove
haven't come last.
So I got a few
pats on the back, too.
And that's due in
no small part to you.
So...
I think you deserve
some sprats.
See if you regained
your appetite.
No.
No.
What did you go
and do that for?
Do you want me to help you?
No.
I, uh, want to
do this myself.
Penguins only have
one partner.
When they lose their mate,
they never take another one.
They separate from
the other penguins,
and they die.
So if you had not brought
Juan Salvador
home with you, sir,
he would have died anyway.
And the time
he spent with us,
this is time
he will not have had.
Thank you.
What can we say
about Juan Salvador?
Well, he was quite short,
about two foot tall.
He, uh, couldn't speak.
He smelt quite bad.
And he shat everywhere.
But then real friendship
is about being able to see
beyond all that
superficial stuff.
Because he...
he was my friend.
It must have
been difficult when...
when Juan Salvador
first arrived here.
He must have been thinking,
"Who are these people?
They're nothing like me.
What am I doing here?
I just want to
be left alone.
I don't care about
this... this college
with its overinflated
opinion of itself".
But then he probably
started to think,
"These people are
all right, actually. Uh...
They're being quite kind.
Perhaps I'll hang around
and make myself useful.
Maybe I can make
a difference.
Especially if they let me
swim in their pool".
And, uh...
That's the thing, you see.
In life, sometimes...
you have to put
the penguin in the pool.
And I don't just mean
literally, of course,
because it's a...
Anyone?
- It's a metaphor, sir.
- Correct.
Not a very good one.
I mean, he might not
have been thinking any of that.
The only thing
I'm certain of is...
Juan Salvador is gone
and I'm sad.
But I'm happy
that I'm sad.
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Penguin Lessons, The (2024)
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