Une langue universelle

What happens when you take the cultural traditions of two seemingly distant worlds and fuse them into a chaotically harmonious mosaic? In "Universal Language", Matthew Rankin crafts a story that's both absurdly specific and oddly universal, examining Canadian identity through the lens of a deeply personal reimagining. The result is an ode to multiculturalism, brimming with ironic humor, cultural parodies, and a warm humanity that transcends linguistic boundaries.

From the start, Rankin plunges us into an alternate Canada where Farsi and French are the official languages. This choice might seem random at first, but it's actually a meticulous effort to subvert traditional narratives of Canadian identity. The visual humor-like a Winnipeg school sign written in Persian script-sets the film's quirky tone, blending magical realism with deadpan comedy. Professor Bilodeau, played with biting wit by Mani Soleymanlou, becomes both a symbol of everyday exasperation and a tragicomic figure embodying the tensions between cultural tradition and innovation.

The journey of sisters Negin (Rojina Esmaeili) and Nazgol (Saba Vahedyousefi) captures Rankin's vision of childhood as a realm of improbable discoveries and absurd adventures. When they find a frozen banknote stuck in ice, their innocent desire to free it morphs into a mission that takes them through brutalist neighborhoods with monochromatic names. This icy, concrete setting deliciously contrasts with the cultural vibrancy brought to life by the sisters' Farsi dialogue and boundless energy. Their quest isn't just about retrieving a piece of money-it's a metaphor for perseverance and the search for meaning in an often indifferent world.

In a parallel narrative, Rankin inserts himself as a fictionalized version of himself, delivering a storyline that's equal parts comedic and introspective. His journey to visit his ailing mother in Manitoba highlights the peculiarities of Canadian life: a live turkey with its own seat on the bus, banal monuments celebrated as historical landmarks. This balance between the mundane and the surreal is where the film truly shines, transforming small, everyday details into sharp commentary on national identity, collective memory, and the bonds that connect us.

Rankin's cinematic influences are both obvious and masterfully employed. Winnipeg's aesthetic recalls the work of Guy Maddin, while the bizarre scenarios evoke Roy Andersson's humor. Yet at its heart, the film pulses with the sensitivity of Abbas Kiarostami. The classroom scenes, blending humor with a touch of melancholy, are a direct homage to Iranian cinema, adding a layer of universality that transcends geography. This cultural connection isn't a superficial gimmick but is deeply woven into the narrative, reflecting Rankin's genuine effort to explore what it means to belong in a constantly shifting world.

Even in its lightheartedness, "Universal Language" delivers a sharp critique of identity and cultural integration. By reimagining Canada as a space shared between two cultures, the film challenges xenophobia and isolation, offering a vision where differences are celebrated rather than erased. There's also a playful provocation in the film's visual and narrative choices, like Tim Hortons signs written in Farsi or pharmacies embracing the exaggerated minimalism of the No Name brand. These local jokes might not land as strongly with international audiences, but they add layers of authenticity for those familiar with Canadian cultural symbols.

What truly elevates "Universal Language", though, is its ability to balance absurdity with empathy. No matter how eccentric the situations get-whether it's Turks navigating the city or reenactments of 1950s parking lot incidents-the film never loses sight of its characters' humanity. The third act's role-swapping among actors reinforces the idea that, despite cultural or linguistic differences, we share a common essence.

In the end, Rankin delivers more than a film-he offers a cinematic experience that challenges conventions while celebrating life's complexity. "Universal Language" isn't just a cultural satire or a surreal homage; it's a reminder that, even in a fragmented world, there's still room for connection, understanding, and, of course, a little bit of madness.

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE (2025) Matthew Rankin's absurdist film about finding one's self. Set in the Persian community in Canada, the story follows a government administrator named Matthew (and played by the Director) who leaves a position in French speaking Quebec to visit his mother in Winnipeg (he describes his job as the most "neutral" of his career). Along the way he encounters two schoolchildren who are trying to uncover some lost money which is encased in ice (where else?). He discovers that his mother is living with a tour guide, Massoud (Pirouz Nemati), and his family.

Rankin's screenplay (written in collaboration with Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi - who also has a role) is all about the journey. The script is full of witty details like insanely specific storefronts which specialize in only one thing - Birthday cakes, typewriters, chainsaws etc.. There are people wandering the streets asking if anybody needs to have their papers shredded - on the spot! A running gag involves a man (Bahram Nabatian) who is renowned for his knowledge of turkeys and has a series of TV commercials to spread his legend. And, of course, there's a very special Tim Hortons.

Shooting in 16mm, Cinematographer Isabelle Stachtchenko gives the film a strong formalist vision. The locations are often bland building after bland building or incongrous - such as a cemetary along a highway intersection. Rankin's compositions may remind one of a Roy Andersson or, more specifically, Winnipeg's own Guy Maddin. Iranian cinema is evoked. The dry dialogue can call to mind the great Aki Kaurismäki (he of equally frigid Finland), but Rankin makes UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE his own.

There is a bit of a metaphysical turn in the film which emphasises Rankin's theme of how every human must discover their own 'language'. It's not based on speech, nationality or country, but comes from within each and every individual. It's a fractured fairy tale in the best sense, at once witty, but subtely profound at the same time.

Travel Tip: When visiting Winnipeg keep in mind that loitering laws are Strictly Enforced.

This very unusual film by Matthew RANKIN is being entered by Canada into the race for the OSCAR for Best International Film and has already made it onto the shortlist for this award.

The interwoven stories are set in snow-covered Canada (in Quebec and Winnipeg) and tell of bizarre characters who experience very unusual things. No more should be revealed at this point, as this film thrives on its satirical bizarreness. We can reveal that the characters appear almost exclusively speak Persian, and the whole thing takes place against a very monotonous city backdrop. In Persian, UNE LANGUE UNIVERSELLE probably means THE SONG OF THE TURKEY. And a turkey is not entirely unimportant for the course of the plot.

The film is definitely something special and can be interpreted in many different ways. A story about migrants, problems of people from Iran in a bizarre setting or even a nightmare of a homeland where the familiar French is no longer spoken: all of these interpretations are conceivable and certainly many more. In any case, you experience a magically transfigured film that shows everything familiar in a new and satirically transfigured light. But above all, these are very human stories that bring a smile to the audience's face despite the icy cold of the snowy landscapes shown.

From its cinematography and its usual search for symmetry, static or in traveling shots, and pleasant aesthetics with a dreamlike atmosphere enhancing the settings universality, to its story revolving around different characters, how their lives intersect and enliven a dialogue sometimes polite, other times not so much, a Wes Anderson influence crosses Matthew Rankin's feature from beginning to end.

As in Anderson's films, Rankin's is interested in exploring the reality of his film, a reality full of idiosyncrasies that serve as fertile ground for comedy. An angry teacher in a class shouting at the students, one of whom claims a turkey stole his glasses; another one is dressed up as a Groucho Marx as he wants to be a comedian; and another as a fashionista. A freelance tourist guide with strange choices for his tour, etc. With a comedy consisting of wry, deadpan, and dark humor, Une langue universelle manages to be hilarious every time it wants to. There are many times when its happenings border absurdism or surrealism, furthering the comedy that bathes it yet never undermining its aim at thought-provoking profundity. Rankin's dexterity manages to evoke a surrealist dreamlike fable but also an expressive introspective melancholy. Elements and sentiments that coalesce and give life to a special experience between places and times, realities and dreams. For instance, in the reality of the movie, even if we are in Canada, French, let alone English, seems to be a second language, and in its place there is Persian. They all speak it, and signs and billboards are written in it, rendering its result as something close yet distant, known and unknown intermingle in a culturally and demographically blind new reality.

In terms of cinematography, many times resembling that of Anderson, more in framing and movement than in color palette, there is a constant will to inhabit the spaces where the characters are in. The camera is sometimes static from a distance, observing their movement and how it affects the surroundings instead of focusing on their faces and expressions with close-ups. It is as if the place is as important as the characters for the telling of the story, and Rankin wants to make sure we delve into it as tourists from a foreign land. And while in terms of names we may know these cities, in the framework of the movie and its demographic profile unmatching our knowledge, there may be reasons to delve into these spaces.

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is an oddball comedy that at first seems like something from the French "theatre of the absurd" of 100 years ago. One character is a tour guide in Winnipeg, a really dull town, especially in the dead of winter. It's fun to watch him try to make something interesting out of things like a dried-up fountain in the courtyard of a virtually deserted shopping mall, or a briefcase left at a bus stop in the 1970s. And there's the lady whose job is to promote the use of Kleenex. She goes to funerals giving out Kleenexes and encouraging people to cry. She herself collects her tears. In her closet, she has several jars of tears with labels on them indicating the years they were shed. There's a bingo parlor where the prizes are crates of Kleenex. Or the schoolboy who wants to be a comedian and goes around dressed and made up like Groucho Marx. And, of course, a turkey alleged to have won an avian beauty contest, who steals a boy's glasses. There are many other threads of the story that are all seemingly unrelated. I decided early on not to try to make sense of it and just see what happens next. I believe that that is the right strategy to take watching this movie. Amazingly it all comes together at the end to make a rather sweet and heartfelt story. It's in French and Farsi with English subtitles. Wisely clocking in at slightly less than an hour and a half, it's a delicate film with something to say about Love.