With a glum teacher and a penguin far from home, “The Penguin Lessons” is a “happy to be sad” film bringing tears and a smile.

Based on Tom Michell’s memoir of teaching at an upper-class boys’ school in 1976 Argentina, “Lessons” casts Steve Coogan as Tom who rescues a penguin from an oil spill.

Despite problematically pooping and with a distinctively unappealing odor, the penguin becomes a beloved teaching tool and for Michell a connection to the world around him. That includes Argentina’s military coup which “disappeared” thousands.

“I feel naturally drawn to and at peace when I’m making stories that are in that bittersweet world,” said director Peter Cattaneo (“The Full Monty”). “There’s a line from the movie, ‘I’m glad that I’m sad’ — and that’s partly to do with Tom’s journey. He’s shut down at the beginning but is woken up in many ways through this unexpected friendship with a penguin.”

“I always like films or stories that are hopeful without being naïve,” Coogan, 59, added in a joint Zoom interview. “This film says that just because the world is bleak doesn’t mean you have to be mean-spirited.

“Learning to find hope in even the weakest places is something that’s noble — and good for an audience. If a film doesn’t somehow lift your spirits or enlighten you, then there’s no point in it.”

“Penguin Lessons” is scripted by Coogan’s frequent collaborator Jeff Pope – they were Oscar-nominated for the 2013 “Philomena” with Judi Dench.

“Jeff,” Coogan recalled, “was writing this ‘penguin story’ and asked if I was interested. Initially I thought I don’t want to do a cuddly penguin movie. It’s not really my bag.

“But we got talking about how Tom might change and become a bit more interesting. We decided to make him more cynical and embittered and felt like the penguin could be his escape from his own nihilistic point of view.

“The penguin becomes his lifeboat from his own intensiveness.”

As to what did Coogan discovered about costarring with a penguin, “I knew the penguin would upstage me. I didn’t mind that.

“I petted them every morning. I talked to them. There were two main penguins, Richard and Baba, this male and female.

“There were lots of supervisory people around to make sure the penguins were treated properly. But no one to ensure I was treated properly.

“I just wanted to make sure the penguin was happy. You know it’s very hard to find someone who dislikes a penguin. So it was a great energy on set, something that just changed the normal dynamic of a crew.

“It seemed to dissolve a lot of the tensions you get between characters that clash on a normal film crew and created a harmony.

“It was a bit of life imitating art in that way.”

“The Penguin Lessons” is in theaters