17/45
An absurd triptych of seemingly unconnected stories finds a mysterious point of intersection in this tale set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran. Canada’s official nomination for the “Best International Feature Film” award. category of the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. These Eyes Written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings Performed by The Guess Who. From its cinematography and its usual search for symmetry, static or in traveling shots, and a pleasant aesthetic with a dreamlike atmosphere that enhances the universality of the settings, to its story that revolves around several characters, to how their lives intersect and enliven a dialogue that is sometimes polite, sometimes not. so much so that the influence of Wes Anderson runs through Matthew Rankin’s feature film from start to finish. As in Anderson’s films, Rankin is interested in exploring the reality of his film, a reality full of idiosyncrasies that serve as fertile ground for comedy. An angry teacher in a classroom yelling at students, one of whom claims a turkey stole his glasses; another dresses up as Groucho Marx because he wants to be a comedian; and another as a fashionista. A freelance tour guide with strange choices for his tour, etc. With a comedy composed of ironic, deadpan and dark humor, Une langue Universelle manages to be hilarious whenever it wants to be. There are many moments when its events border on the absurd or surreal, furthering the comedy that pervades it without ever weakening its aim of stimulating depth. Rankin’s dexterity manages to evoke a surrealist dreamlike fable but also an expressive introspective melancholy. Elements and feelings that blend together and give life to a special experience between places and times, reality and dreams. For example, in the reality of the film, even though we are in Canada, French, not to mention English, seems to be a second language, and in its place is Persian. Everyone speaks it, and there are signs and billboards written in it, making its result feel like something close but distant, known and unknown that mix in a new reality that is culturally and demographically blind. In terms of cinematography, often resembling Anderson’s, more in the framing and movement than in the color palette, there is a constant desire to inhabit the spaces where the characters are. The camera is sometimes static from afar, observing their movements and how they affect the environment around them instead of focusing on their faces and expressions with close-ups. It is as if the place is as important as the characters to the telling of the story, and Rankin wants to make sure we delve into it like tourists from a foreign land. And while we may know these cities by name, in the context of the film and its demographics that don’t match our own knowledge, there may be reasons to delve deeper into these spaces.