Universal Language

2024 · 89 min · FR · NR · 7.0 (52 votes)

Dir. Matthew Rankin · Starring Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Mani Soleymanlou, Ila Firouzabadi · Music Amir Amiri

“This film longs to hold you.”

ComedyDrama

Winter. Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg. Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen deep within the sidewalk ice and try to find a way to get it out. Massoud leads a group of befuddled tourists upon an increasingly-strange walking tour of Winnipeg historic sites. Matthew leaves his job at the Québec government and embarks upon a mysterious journey to visit his estranged mother.

VIBE

This film offers a quietly peculiar and melancholic journey, steeped in a deadpan humor that finds beauty in the mundane. Its deliberate pace invites contemplation, exploring themes of cultural identity and human connection through a series of subtly absurd vignettes. Expect a unique, independent arthouse experience.

quirkydeadpanmelancholicabsurdistcontemplativeslow-burnarthousedeadpan comedyminimalist aestheticcharacter-drivencultural identityalienationthe absurdhuman connection