23/14
An absurd triptych of seemingly unrelated stories finds a mysterious intersection in this tale set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran. Canada’s official bid for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. Those Eyes Screenplay by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings Performance by The Guess Who. From the cinematography and the usual search for symmetry, be it in static or moving images, and a pleasant aesthetic with a dreamlike atmosphere that underscores the universality of the setting, to the story that revolves around different characters, how their lives intersect and enlivens the dialogue Sometimes polite, sometimes less so, the influence of Wes Anderson permeates Matthew Rankin’s 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 the classroom yells at the students, one of whom claims the turkey stole his glasses; the second is dressed like Groucho Marx because he wants to be a comedian; and another as a fashionista. Independent tour guide with a strange choice for his tour, etc. D. With a comedy full of irony, lightness and black humor, ‘Une langue universelle’ manages to be funny every time it wants to. In many cases, its events border on absurdity or surrealism, adding to the comedy that envelops it without, however, undermining its goal – thought-provoking depth. Rankin’s skill manages to evoke a surreal fairy tale but also an expressive, introspective melancholy. Elements and feelings that unite and give life to a special experience between places and times, realities and dreams. In the reality of the film, for example, French, not to mention English, seems like a second language, even though we’re in Canada, and in its place is Persian. They all speak it, and there are signs and billboards written on it, portraying the result as something close yet distant, known and unknown, intertwined in a culturally and demographically blind new reality. From the point of view of the cinematography, which in many cases resembles Anderson’s cinematography more in terms of framing and movement than in terms of color palette, there is a constant desire to inhabit the spaces the characters are in. The camera is sometimes static from a distance, observing their movements and their effects on their surroundings, rather than focusing on their faces and expressions in close-up. It seems as though the location is as important to the story as the characters, and Rankin wants to make sure we’re immersed in it like tourists from a foreign land. And although we may know these cities from the point of view of the names, there may be reasons to engage with these spaces within the context of the film and its demographic profile that does not correspond to our knowledge.