Universal Language

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2:08

Universal Language

2024,

1h 29m,

Comedy

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Universal Language: Trailer 1

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95%

85 Reviews

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Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

Popcornmeter

In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.

Critics Consensus

Bridging two nations with a clever and surreal conceit, Universal Language is a culture clash comedy brimming with wisdom.

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Saffron Maeve

Sight & Sound

Dec 18, 2025

A brilliantly bizarre comedy that imagines a Canada where the two official languages are Farsi and French.

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Stephen Romei

The Australian

May 23, 2025

3/5

This is an unconventional film that slowly drew me in. There’s a tenderness about it as the boundaries between the characters loosen.

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Jake Wilson

Sydney Morning Herald

May 22, 2025

2.5/5

...I can imagine in principle how it might be possible to find Universal Language a moving experience, even without being familiar with any of its reference points. But I'm bound to say it left me pretty cold.

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Andy Hazel

The Saturday Paper

Jul 23, 2026

A film that harnesses the dry wit of Garrison Keillor, the precise framing of Wes Anderson and the colour palette of a Soviet industrial estate to create a work full of sweetly weird situations.

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Calvin Law

The Asian Cut

Jul 31, 2025

3.5/5

That Rankin segues from all this enjoyable humour into something quite strangely moving as we delve further into his stories, is quite impressive.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Jul 2, 2025

3.5/4

... a bittersweet consideration of what it means to belong to a family, a city, a country.

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Matthew Rankin

Director

Rojina Esmaeili

Negin

Saba Vahedyousefi

Nazgol

Sobhan Javadi

Omid

Pirouz Nemati

Massoud

Matthew Rankin

Matthew

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Universal Language: Trailer 1

2:08

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Synopsis

In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.

Director: Matthew Rankin
Producer: Sylvain Corbeil
Screenwriter: Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi
Production Co: Metafilms
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: Persian
Runtime: 1h 29m

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