Timely Movies
Conclave and Penguin Lessons
Occasionally, a movie producer gets lucky and unknowingly creates a film that proves to be incredibly timely. That’s the case with two movies currently available: Conclave and Penguin Lessons.
Conclave is based on Robert Harris’s 2016 novel of the same name. The plot centers on the selection of a new pope. Named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, it received eight nominations at the 97th Academy Awards. It might have faded out of the spotlight, but on April 21, 2025, Pope Francis passed away. Suddenly, people who had no prior interest in the film were streaming it, eager to learn about the process that will begin on May 7, when Catholic cardinals assemble to select a new pope.
Certainly, the outcome in Rome will differ from the one portrayed in the film and novel, but the process remains the same. That’s why you should watch this movie. Even if you’re not Catholic and have never been interested in how a pope is chosen, you now have an opportunity to witness the emergence of a new moral voice for the world.
Who will the cardinals choose? Will he follow in Pope Francis’s footsteps? Will he reverse course and be more conservative? Will he come from Africa or Asia? What personal experiences will he bring with him? Will he reach out his hand to leaders from other faith traditions as Pope Francis did? So many questions. We’ll begin to get some answers sometime in May, when white smoke announces that a new pope has been selected.
The other incredibly timely movie is lesser known. Penguin Lessons is a 2024 film based on Tom Mitchell’s 2015 memoir. The central story follows a British teacher who finds himself teaching at a boys’ school in Argentina in the 1970s. He rescues a penguin on the beach and takes it back to school, where the bird becomes a catalyst for transforming his classroom.
That’s the “penguin lesson,” but not the reason the movie and memoir feel timely. A secondary storyline explores the brutal regime in Argentina during the 1970s, when people were picked up off the streets and simply “disappeared.” The teacher witnesses a woman he knows being taken from a street corner and does nothing. Haunted by his failure to act, he later makes a decision to right his wrong.
This part of the film raises all sorts of pressing questions in today’s world. What would I do if I witnessed someone being taken? What does it say about a country where such a thing is possible? Is there something I can do to stand up for due process?
I’ve seen both of these movies and highly recommend that you do too. They’ve left a lasting impression on me. If you’d like to get together and talk about their relevance in today’s rapidly changing world, send me an email: betty@thegardenonline.org.
