People say that a freak accident can kill you in an instant. What they don’t always say though, is that those who survive freak accidents can be some of the greatest inspirations to walk the planet. In 2013 Samantha Bloom was on a family vacation in Thailand when she leaned up against a rotten railing and fell 6 meters onto the concrete below. Her story is tragic as this crazy accident changed her life forever but her story was not yet done being told. On Wednesday, January 27, 2021, a new Netflix Original came out. The title being Penguin Bloom. A film created to tell Samantha’s story for all to see. An inspiring story for sure. 

Penguin Bloom is set in Australia and is told from Samantha’s oldest son (Noah’s) point of view. It starts with a story of who Samantha was as it leads on to tell how her life changed in just the blink of an eye. As the story begins, images flash from moment to moment. With waves of the ocean and Samantha surfing, old photos of Samantha and her husband together from when they were in high school. The constant change of the film creates a peaceful and unique introduction as it continues to draw the reader in not just by the story but by the beauty of what was. 

After Samantha’s accident, everything goes downwards for the Bloom family. They feel as if they lost a mother and wife. Samantha herself loses herself and goes into a deep state of depression. It wasn’t until Noah discovered an injured baby Magpie hidden in some underbrush on the beach. As soon as Noah brings home the magpie things change and Penguin (the baby magpie) becomes a huge part of the Bloom families story along with a new inspiration/piece of hope for Samantha. 

One of the best things about the movie is the transitions. In certain parts of the movie, the whole film will flip and will transfer over to either a memory or a dream. As that dream occurs you watch and get a feeling of what Samantha or her husband is going through. When the dream or thought ends, however, it transitions back into reality so smoothly that it continues to fascinate the audience. Sometimes the dream even becomes an illusion in real life (just for a split second). 

Another cool thing that I loved was the kids. There were some scenes where the kids just needed an escape from their house and the sadness and anger consuming the inside of the house. So they would sneak off and just go and be kids and have fun. With such a sad mood for a movie and a depressing film in all, seeing the kids still be able to act themselves and do things a normal kid would do brought so much joy and even a little bit of laughter to the film. There were some really cute moments with the kids that made the movie enjoyable. 

Penguin Bloom is a movie that I would highly recommend. It may be slow but being able to watch the tiniest creature (at first) impact someone’s life after months and months of depression, pain and anger were truly amazing to sit and watch. I loved every single moment of this and was brought to tears but also brought to happiness in the end. The movie was amazing and is highly recommended to anyone who likes movies based on true stories or is just looking for an inspirational movie.