Universal Language: A Review

By Darlene Donloe 

A lot is happening in Universal Language, Canada’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards®, which will be held on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 

The Twentieth Century film opens on February 12, 2025, and is directed by Matthew Rankin.

This quirky movie, set in Canada, opens with the camera in a stagnant shot as children and faculty arrive to start the school day. 

When one of the teachers arrives and begins the day’s lesson, it’s clear that some of the children have not studied, to his dismay. Unforgiving, the teacher makes all students crowd into a closet as punishment.

Thus, this unique and original film starts with several vignettes featuring sharply developed characters. The first act introduces all of the characters, some in all of their dysfunction. 

One of the funniest vignettes features a tour guide named Massoud, who leads a group of increasingly befuddled tourists through the monuments, historic sites, and primarily obscure sites of Winnipeg, Canada.

Two schoolchildren, Negin and Nazgol, also find money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. The problem is that they don’t have the tools to free it from its icy grave. They decide to come back later after enlisting help and trying to find the tools to free the money. 

The character, Matthew, quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and decides to visit his mother. He just ups and leaves.

The film, which highlights Canada and Iran, is primarily grayish in tone to create an icy, wintery feel.

It’s interesting how the two distinct cultures merge into an unforgettable story. The locations and all of the characters reinforce the drabness of both Winnipeg, juxtaposed with their drab lives.  

Eventually, these characters’ lives intersect in the most unlikely ways. It’s masterful how the stories of these ordinary people all come together in a surreal comedy of malfeasance.

The stories are simple yet layered.

Rankin’s direction is masterful, but sometimes the story gets confusing.  Still, the film is appealing and heartfelt.

The Universal Language is love in all its multi-faceted forms.

Although it’s billed as a comedy, Universal Language is also very much a drama—the merging of the two results in an oddly satisfying film.

Kudos to everyone involved.

Universal Language is directed by Rankin, written by Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Ila Firouzabadi, and produced by Sylvain Corbeil. 

Release date: February 14, 2025; Canada, 89 minutes, comedy. 

On the DONLOE SCALE, (D) don’t bother, (O) Oh, no, N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent); Universal Language gets an O (oh, yeah).