Universal Language
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Movie Info & Cast
Synopsis
An absurdist triptych of seemingly unconnected stories find a mysterious point of intersection in this tale set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran.
Cast
- Matthew Rankin
- Pirouz Nemati
- Amir Amiri
- Faraz Anoushah Pour
- Bernard Arene
- Gilnaz Arzpeyma
- Asinnajaq
- Baharan BaniAhmadi
- Sarianne Cormier
- Rojina Esmaeili
Letterboxd User Reviews
3.8
35.9K
13.7K
13.7K
- Oct 22, 2024
there’s such a thin line between homages that re-contextualize the original material in an interesting way vs. embarrassing ripoffs that leave you wishing you were watching the good stuff (kill bill to lady snowblood vs. joker to king of comedy) but this hits it out of the…
KarstenMay 24, 2024Despite being set in a parallel-universe Winnipeg where the people talk in Farsi and the world around them seems as if it’s been frozen in time since the mid-1980s (when Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and the other masters of Iranian meta-realism were exploding onto…
davidehrlichOct 18, 2024“Iranian cinema emerges out of a thousand years of poetry, Winnipeg cinema emerges out of 50 years of infomercials.” - Matthew Rankin in the Q&A
Anthony - Sep 20, 2024
So subtly hilarious and moving Too bad Winnipeg isn't real
Amanda the JediFeb 1, 2025Be right back, jfais mon 30 minutes de silence pour Louis Riel
Oy_BoucheroFeb 22, 2025Immigrants will not take your job but they will take amazing care of your mom while you were off having the most neutral experience of your life. This country is inhospitable and cold but it’s also a small town and there are some wonderful unremarkable people living here.…
saskia - Sep 11, 2024
If only Winnipeg was actually like that... Universal Language is a breathtakingly gorgeous film - transforming Winnipeg's scant landscape and brutalist architecture into something you refuse to take your eyes off of. Matthew Rankin has brought a sense of…
MaiaNov 1, 2024i am lebanese. i am canadian. i was split in two the moment my mother birthed me on canadian soil. i am still trying to become one. to become a self. language escapes me because my culture is captured through a lens that is smudged. everything exists on some border that is…
sleepawaycrampsFeb 18, 2025Ask anybody for help. Everyone is nice.That's it. That's the universal language- kindness.
Mihir Nanda
Queue Community Reviews
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Community 123
Top Reviews
- Nikoklis likedUniversal Language
arketa periergh tainia. h fantasia tou skinotheti kalpaze. apisteuth fotografia thumize polu to grand Budapest hotel. h plokh usterouse elaxista alla htan timia tainia. 7,7/10
Kristin Simcox likedUniversal LanguageQuirky absurdist humor isn’t my thing but this was quite captivating
KC likedUniversal LanguageI think I need to rewatch. I liked the concept.
- victoria v. lovedUniversal Language
“Speak softly, flowers are sensitive.”
Wandering Jew lovedUniversal LanguageCanada 🍁
Atom User Reviews
Metacritic
Feb 28, 2025
It is as far from the commercial mainstream as narrative filmmaking gets, but for connoisseurs of the poetic bizarre, it has its very real enchantments.
Ty Burr
Washington Post
Feb 14, 2025
Rankin seems to be seeking out the universal language of cinema itself. In his own very weird way he manages to find it, turning an everyday place into something momentarily special — which is what all good movies are meant to do.
Jordan Mintzer
The Hollywood Reporter
Sep 17, 2024
The story navigates the fine line between community pride and nationalistic zeal, providing lessons for a future while admitting to the existential futility of it all. We can shift our perspective, but every time we do, things stay pretty much the same.
Jason Gorber
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