
Universal Language
Director: Matthew Rankin Run Time: 89 min. Release Year: 2024 Language: French
Starring: Mani Soleymanlou, Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi
Winter. Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg. Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen deep within the sidewalk ice and try to find a way to get it out. Massoud leads a group of befuddled tourists upon an increasingly-strange walking tour of Winnipeg historic sites. Matthew leaves his job at the Québec government and embarks upon a mysterious journey to visit his estranged mother.
“Rankin seems to be seeking out the universal language of cinema itself. In his own very weird way he manages to find it, turning an everyday place into something momentarily special — which is what all good movies are meant to do.” ~ Jordan Minzter, The Hollywood Reporter