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October 26, 2024The official languages spoken in a country aren’t necessarily representative of its cultural makeup. It’s also unfortunately true that many who consider themselves native aren’t fond of alternatives to the dominant tongue being adopted and recognized since they manage to conveniently forget that everyone comes from somewhere. Canada’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature, Universal Language, invents a version of its country, and specifically the Manitoba capital Winnipeg, that doesn’t look like the real thing but conjures up a marvelously imaginative setting for superb storytelling.
The first scene of Universal Language sets a distinctly comedic tone for the film, as French immersion teacher Mr. Bilodeau (Mani Soleymanlou) arrives in a huff to discipline his students, who he lambasts for making noise in Farsi rather than French. After he scolds his students for various offenses from losing their glasses to dressing up as Groucho Marx, the story pivots to follow Negin (Rojina Esmaeili) and her sister Nazgol (Saba Vahedyousefi) as they find an expensive bill frozen in the ice and set off to find a way to remove it while tour guide Massoud (Pirouz Nemati) agrees to stand watch, and Matthew (Matthew Rankin) begins his journey back from Montreal home to Winnipeg to visit his ailing mother that he hasn’t seen in a very long time.
This film, which doesn’t feature any English and instead switches between Farsi and French, is certainly larger than life. As Negin and Nazgol search for the right device to rescue their treasure from its frozen prison, they are given directions through Winnipeg, which includes signs only in Farsi and even a Tim Horton’s that serves donuts but otherwise is entirely unrecognizable due to its overwhelming Iranian influences. Districts are referred to only by their colors and vendors are ultra-specific in what they sell, like the expert renowned for his turkeys. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t speak Farsi, including Matthew, who surprises his seatmate on the bus, Mr. Bilodeau, with his fluency.
There is so much comedy in this film that comes from its sendup of Winnipeg, with Massoud taking a group of tourists on a miserable and shockingly dull trek around the city. They’re visibly cold yet Massoud announces a thirty-minute period of silence in commemoration of the Métis leader executed in his time but now revered as an important and game-changing leader. One member of the tour group asks whether a revolutionary in that time was able to make a good salary. After an expectedly uninteresting response, Massoud continues his tour to must-see sites like a bench where an unknown briefcase has been left for decades and is now a UNESCO world heritage site and a mall fountain that no longer has water yet boasts a sign banning loitering even though, as one unamused participant comments, there’s absolutely nothing to see.
The creativity in Universal Language, which is directed and co-written by Rankin, is overflowing, and while there are many laughs to be had throughout its first two acts, it makes a stark shift in its third that questions the nature of identity and existence. There are other haunting moments before that in the relationships that help to prepare audiences for a massive tonal change, and while it ultimately ends on a serious note, there’s still a great deal of fun to be had throughout in its contemplative exploration of an alternate world. It’s never clear exactly where it’s heading and in some cases doesn’t even get there, but it’s fully intriguing and captivating from start to finish. This film is a unique specimen with a distinct point of view, using the tools of language and culture to construct a fascinating journey through a place it humorously depicts as far from worthwhile.
Movie Rating: 8/10
Awards Buzz: Canada hasn’t been shortlisted for the Oscar for Best International Feature in almost a decade, and its last nomination was back in 2012. Its sole win was in 2003 for The Barbarian Invasions, but this film may just have the appeal to welcome a country whose films are most often in English back into the fold.