SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk!
On a family trip to Thailand, Sam (Naomi Watts) falls through a broken railing and breaks her spine, paralyzing her from the middle of her back down. She is depressed and sullen, and her oldest son Noah finds an injured magpie that he brings home. He names it Penguin, and the family nurses her back to health. Sam begins to do physical therapy and accepts her condition. Eventually, healthy, Penguin flies away and Sam says “thank you”.
Penguin Bloom Plot Summary and Synopsis
During a family vacation in Thailand, Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts) accidentally falls off a high balcony and breaks her T6 thoracic vertebrae resulting in partial paralysis. Back home in Australia, Sam, an avid surfer, struggles to adjust to life in a wheelchair but is supported by her husband Cameron (Andrew Lincoln), their three sons Noah, Rueben, and Oli, and Sam’s overbearing mother Jan (Jacki Weaver).
One afternoon, the three boys find and bring home an injured magpie chick who they name Penguin. Sam is initially despondent to care for Penguin but understands it is important to Noah, and as time goes on, she bonds with her. Noah feels guilty for being the one who asked his mum to go up to the balcony in Thailand and has withdrawn from her since the accident. Sam and Cameron’s relationship also deteriorates as she struggles to find joy in daily life and wishes to forget who she was before the fall since she can no longer live in the same way. She demands he never asks her how she is.
After several weeks, Penguin fully recovers and learns to fly, inspiring Sam to want to do something for herself; she starts kayaking lessons. For Sam’s birthday, the Blooms go for dinner at Jan’s house, joined by Sam’s sister Kylie (Leeanna Walsman) and Sam’s kayaking instructor Gaye (Rachel House). While Jan and Cameron argue about Sam’s new life and their responsibilities to her, Penguin is attacked by two larger birds and then flies away.
Sam eventually confronts Noah about his guilt and tells him he is not to blame for what happened to her. She apologizes for being distant and reveals she has found her strength, and the whole family reconciles. Sam asks Cameron to ask her how she is, and when he does, she replies, “I’m better.”
Penguin Bloom Ending
Penguin returns home a few days later, and Sam thanks her for helping her recover.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).