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Une langue universelle

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Universal Language

Rojina Esmaeili

Saba Vahedyousefi

Matthew Rankin

Pirouz Nemati

Mani Soleymanlou

Ila Firouzabadi

Sobhan Javadi

Danielle Fichaud

Bahram Nabatian

Hemela Pourafzal

Dara Najmabadi

Denis Houle

Amir Amiri

Faraz Anoushahpour

Bernard Arène

Gilnaz Arzpeyma

Asinnajaq

Baharan BaniAhmadi

Sarianne Cormier

Sahar Mofidi

Zhila Naghibzadeh

Nima Pourtolami

Ramin S. Khanjani

Mohammad Salari

Annie St-Pierre

Aonan Yang

Nora Zarkandi

Parissa Mohit

Theodore Ushev

Sylvain Corbeil

Isabelle Stachtchenko

Louisa Schabas

Roger Martin

Marilou Richer

Negar Nemati

Florelle Del Burgo

Nermin Grbic

Marie Salvado

Sam Javanrouh

Bernard Gariépy Strobl

Sacha Ratcliffe

Hugo Ferland-Dionne

Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux

Xi Feng

Brent Marchant

Philosophers and metaphysicians are generally quick to agree that we’re all fundamentally connected, both to one another and to everything around us, that there’s a certain universality binding all there is in our existence. But how many of us actually take the time to truly recognize, consider and appreciate this? Maybe this calls for stepping away from our everyday world and immersing ourselves in some sort of alternate version of it to see the inherent connections and the value that lie therein. That’s what writer-actor-director Matthew Rankin so eloquently shows us in his second feature outing, an absurdist fable of seemingly unrelated stories that ultimately tie together to illustrate the bonds that unite us and how we can put them to best use for our collective benefit. This triptych of tall tales tells the stories of a Quebec government worker (Rankin) who quits his job to return home to visit his long-estranged mother in Winnipeg; a part-time tour guide (Pirouz Nemati) who leads small bands of visitors on an excursion of mundane, unimpressive alleged tourist sites in Manitoba’s capital city; and a pair of concerned grade school classmates (Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi) who try to secure funds to help a friend (Sobhan Javadi) replace his lost eye glasses when they fall off and are quickly pilfered by a crafty. free-roaming wild turkey. The assistance these individuals freely offer to others (and receive from them in kind) to get through the quirky challenges of these bizarre circumstances, in turn, reveals the unspoken “universal language” that binds all of us – our mutual compassion and support for one another, particularly those in need. All of this is set against the backdrop of an alternate version of Canada (where the primary language is Farsi) in winter, providing a fitting setting for wending our way through the cold world that surrounds us. “Universal Language” thus serves up a heartwarming, gentle yet insightful story that reminds us of our innate linkage and the goodwill that we’re all capable of unselfishly extending to one another when warranted, something that, ideally, should come to us as second nature, as it does for the characters in this film. And all of this is nestled into a wealth of hilarious, off-the-wall humor, coming across like a mixture of Monty Python and Federico Fellini. Admittedly, the film’s opening act may seem somewhat disjointed and perhaps even a bit too idiosyncratic for its own good at times, but these issues gradually dissipate as the picture plays out and the pieces of its various story threads begin piecing themselves together, revealing the aforementioned intrinsic connections among us. This delightful indie gem has largely flown below the radar thus far, despite its awards, nominations and rave reception at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, as well as its designation as one of the National Board of Review’s Top 5 International Films of last year. Indeed, at a time when it seems like there’s so much dividing us, it’s gratifying to see a release like this, one that tenderly spotlights more of what binds us than what sets us apart.

Q&A with Matthew Rankin | TIFF 2025

Iranian Cinema Inspired Matthew Rankin’s UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE | TIFF 2024

Canadian Spot

Denis Villeneuve interviews Matthew Rankin - Universal Language

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE (UNE LANGUE UNIVERSELLE) Conversation at AFI FEST presented by Canva

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Universal Language

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Cast

Rojina Esmaeili

Saba Vahedyousefi

Matthew Rankin

Pirouz Nemati

Mani Soleymanlou

Ila Firouzabadi

Sobhan Javadi

Danielle Fichaud

Bahram Nabatian

Hemela Pourafzal

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