Cinema from the Spectrum

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of My Winnipeg, complete with a rare live narration by director Guy Maddin himself. During the post-screening Q&A, Maddin mentioned Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language as a film he admired for capturing the spirit of their shared hometown, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In fact, Rankin is credited as a labourer on My Winnipeg and like that film, Rankin’s film is deeply surreal—but even as it presents an alternate version of Canada, it weaves in moments of truth that ground its strangeness in something real. Before Universal Language, Rankin made his mark with the equally surreal and offbeat The Twentieth Century—a satirical reimagining of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King’s rise to power that firmly established him as a filmmaker to watch.

Universal Language still imagines Canada as a bilingual nation—but in this alternate reality, the two official languages are now Persian and French. As a fellow Canadian, it was refreshing to watch a film filled with inside jokes about the country as a whole—jokes I could actually laugh at and recognize.

The film weaves together three storylines that begin to converge. One follows Negin (Rojina Esmaeli) and Nazgol (Saba Vahedyousefi) who discover a five-hundred Riel note frozen in ice and try to find a way to extract it.  Another follows Massoud (Pirouz Nemati), a Winnipeg tour guide who leads groups through absurd local landmarks. These include Louis Riel’s grave marooned on a strip of land in the middle of a highway, a briefcase left on a bench in 1978 that has since been enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a visit to the crumbling Portage Place mall—now filled with hilarious propaganda posters featuring former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The third storyline features Rankin himself, playing a character named Matthew (likely based on himself), who quits his job in Quebec and returns home to Winnipeg to visit his mother.

One of the standout accomplishments of Universal Language is the richly textured world it builds. Director Matthew Rankin and cinematographer Isabelle Stachtchenko shoot on Super 16 film, lending the movie a dreamy, nostalgic atmosphere that evokes the visual feel of the 1970s and 90s. The aesthetic is carefully curated: a muted palette dominated by beige, grey and the stark whites of Winnipeg’s snowbanks, punctuated by striking brutalist architecture and flashes of color, like children’s coats or stylized signs. It’s a look that recalls the symmetry and stylization of Wes Anderson, yet feels wholly original. The film also includes what could best be described as retro ‘80s-chic commercials, adding to its offbeat charm. One especially delightful touch is an alternate-universe Tim Hortons reimagined as a traditional Tehran-style tea house, complete with full table service—a clever nod to both Canadian and Iranian cultural staples.

At its core, Universal Language is about the search for belonging, meaning and human connection. One of the film’s most affecting themes is the idea that, even if you don’t understand Persian or French—the film’s primary languages—you can still intuitively understand what the characters are going through. That’s the universal language it speaks to: the deeply human desire to be part of something larger than ourselves.

Rankin also nails the absurdity baked into everyday life. The film highlights how even the most mundane moments— whether it’s a bizarre bus ride, a classroom delay, or a walk through an abandoned mall—can carry unexpected emotional weight or comedy, depending on who’s experiencing them. It captures the banality of existence while also revealing how much those seemingly trivial things can matter. There’s a long-standing joke in Canadian lore that Winnipeg is the forgotten city, and Rankin plays with that reputation beautifully, using the city’s washed out palette and bleak winter landscape to underscore both isolation and quiet beauty.

Universal Language is, without question, one of the most inventive and accomplished Canadian films of the 21st century. It’s strange, funny, touching and completely original. With his sophomore feature, Rankin firmly establishes himself as one of the most visionary cinematic minds working in Canada.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Maison 4:3.

Directed by Matthew Rankin
Screenplay by Ila Firouzabadi, Pirouz Nemati, Matthew Rankin
Produced by Sylvain Corbeil
Starring Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Sobhan Javadi, Pirouz Nemati, Mani Soleymanlou, Danielle Fichaud, Matthew Rankin
Premiere Date: May 18, 2024
Running Time: 89 minutes