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From left, Andrew Lincoln, Felix Cameron, Griffin Murray-Johnston, Naomi Watts and Abe Clifford-Barr in “Penguin Bloom.” (Joel Pratley/Netflix)
“Magpie trainer: Paul Mander” – Prominent listing in the closing credits for “Penguin Bloom.”
Can’t remember the last time I saw a credit for a “magpie trainer” in a movie, but rest assured, Paul Mander deserves star billing for his behind-the-scenes work in the Netflix original movie “Penguin Bloom,” a three-tissue weeper based on the true story of a family fractured by a horrific accident – and the black-and-white Australian magpie that helped them heal.
In fact, this is one of those “inspired by real life events” movies that would have seemed completely far-fetched (or perhaps based on an illustrated children’s book) were it not that the story is adapted from the bestselling nonfiction book “Penguin Bloom: The Odd
CST
Netflix presents a film directed by Glendyn Ivin and written by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, based on the book by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive. No MPAA rating. Running time: 95 minutes. Available Wednesday on Netflix. In fact, this is one of those “inspired by real life events” movies that would have seem completely far-fetched (or perhaps based on an illustrated children’s book) were it not for the fact the story is adapted from the best-selling non-fiction book “Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird That Saved a Family,” by Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom, the latter of whom wanted to share with the world the initially heartbreaking but ultimately soaring tale of what happened to his family after his wife Sam was left paralyzed from the chest down after falling from a hotel balcony in Thailand in 2013.