The Absurd Connections of Universal Language
The surreal Canadian comedy is like no movie you’ve seen.
It all starts with a turkey. Though “starts” might not be the correct word to use for Universal Language, Matthew Rankin’s surreal, loopy film set in some bizarre alternate version of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian absurdist comedy-drama is a nonlinear puzzle of a movie, one that doesn’t so much piece itself together as much as it rattles around all its pieces and throws them onto the ground. But that’s what makes Universal Language such a singular film to behold.
Back to the aforementioned turkey: Universal Language actually opens with a harried French teacher (Mani Soleymanlou) arriving at his chaotic classroom — with his tardiness, the students have all gone a bit wild, speaking Persian to each other. The teacher scolds them for not speaking in French, then blows up at one child dressed exactly like Groucho Marx, mustache and all. When the students explain that their misbehavior is owing to one of the kids having their glasses stolen by a turkey, the teacher sends them all to stand in the closet, thus kicking off the series of strange little odysseys that make up Universal Language.
It’s hard to sum up the plot of Universal Language in a concise manner. That’s because the script, written by Rankin, Ila Firouzabadi, and Pirouz Nemat, doesn’t so much have a plot than it has a handful of vignettes that coalesce into a surreal climax. One vignette follows two girls (Rojina Esmaeili and Saba Vahedyousefi) who find a banknote frozen in ice, and embark on an epic journey to free it so they can pay for new glasses for their classmate. Another vignette follows an adult tour guide (Pirouz Nemati) who takes an increasingly bewildered group of tourists to various local attractions like “the Great Parallel Parking Incident of 1958.” Yet another vignette follows a shop owner who has lost his prize turkey in transit, after months of texting with it. But perhaps the central storyline follows a man named Matthew Rankin (played by director Matthew Rankin), who is traveling to Winnipeg by bus to visit his sick mother after he loses his soulless desk job in Montreal.
As we’re guided through this odd version of Winnipeg via these small slice-of-life installments, it becomes increasingly clear that more than a few things are off. Though we appear to be in a French-Canadian province, Farsi is the spoken language. The culture seems to be entirely Iranian, as if the population of Tehran was air-lifted out and dropped in snowy Canada. Tim Hortons is a tea shop that serves its drinks out of samovars. Everyone speaks in a monotonous deadpan voice.
One of the girls (Rojina Esmaeili) who ends up on a quest to retrieve a frozen banknote.
Moving through this movie is like moving through a dream you had after falling asleep watching an Iranian New Wave film while it snowed outside. It’s strange and a little disconcerting, but not altogether unwelcoming. In fact, there’s an undeniable warmth that seeps through the icy locales and deadpan deliveries — a feeling of geniality and camaraderie, as strangers come together to solve various small mysteries (the primary one being the missing turkey).
When the film builds to its absurdist climax, that’s when the meaning behind the movie’s title becomes clear: the universal language we share is that of cinema. It’s a strange, oddball journey to get there, but it makes for one of the most singular viewing experiences you’ll get all year.
