I was lucky enough to see Universal Language last week, in the run-up to the Byron Bay Film Festival, and I think it might be one of the ‘must see’ films of the event.
The film is beautifully shot, even though the scenery looks like downtown Siberia – Director of Photography Isabelle Stachtchenko has managed to create a feeling of familiarity and even a kind of ‘warmth’ in a desolate snow-clad alternate world where Farsi is the national language of Canada.
Writer/director Matthew Rankin has curated a stellar ensemble cast, including himself, and co-writers Ila Firouzabadi (as a hysterical bus driver), and Pirouz Nemati as Massoud, a Boratesque character, but more serious and less piss-taking – I think…
The children in the cast are truly amazing – Rojina Esmaeili as Negin, around ten-years-old at the time of filming, performing beyond her years as a girl who just wants to help out her friend.
Esmaeili gives so much nuance for one so young, and Sobhan Javadi as Omid, the boy who loses his reading glasses to set the adventure in motion, gives two full minutes of heart wrenching that leaves you wanting to slap classroom bully, Iraj Bilodeau, who in the same two minutes’ is played by Mani Soleymanlou, making you ask yourself, ‘how long does it take to hate a man?’
A trip from point A to point B
There is something vaguely unsettling and at the same time comforting about the trip from point A to point B and the various characters you meet along the way – mostly, truly absurd.
The story may appear minimalist but by the end you find yourself in a deep, or not so deep hole, that’s tricky to get out of – it IS absurd, but there is something in it that reminds us that all of our stories are absurd – all of our stories defy explanation, yet, all of our stories, to a degree, are the same story, and there is something that connects us all to this film.
The big takeaway for me was: don’t let the turkeys get you down, but in reality, that wouldn’t be fair on the turkeys…
This is definitely a filmmakers film, and one that shouldn’t be missed.
I implore you to go and see Universal Language – it’s one of those hidden diamonds that if you miss it, you just may never have the opportunity again. And there’s a terrible sting to that. Don’t take the risk.
Universal Language screens at the Palace Cinema, Byron Bay, next Saturday, October 25 at 3pm. Tickets: bbff.com.au.
If you are still unsure, here are four fists- full of awards to convince you.
• Cannes Film Festival: Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award
• Melbourne International Film Festival: Bright Horizons Award
• Toronto International Film Festival: Best Canadian Discovery Award
• Vancouver International Film Festival: Best Canadian Film (Summit Award)
• Filmfest Hamburg: Arthouse Cinema Award
• Loft Film Fest: Arthouse Cinema Award
• Toronto Film Critics Association Awards: Best Canadian Film
• Stockholm International Film Festival: Best Director (Matthew Rankin)
• Thessaloniki International Film Festival: Best Film in the Film Forward Competition
• Viennale (Vienna International Film Festival): FIPRESCI Prize
• National Board of Review: Top 5 International Films
• Directors Guild of Canada Awards: Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award (Nominated)
• Pingyao International Film Festival: Best Film (Nominated) + People’s Choice Award (Nominated)
• Palm Springs International Film Festival: Best International Feature Film (Nominated)
• Bangkok World Film Festival: Best Director – Matthew Rankin
• Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival: Jury Prize – Best Director (2024) – Matthew Rankin
• Calgary International Film Festival: RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award (2024) – Mr Rankin
• Film Club’s The Lost Weekend: Lost Weekend Award – Avant Robot Award (2024) – Mr Rankin
• The CAFTCAD Awards: Best Costume Design in Film – Sci-Fi/Fantasy (2025) – Negar Nemati
• Piccolo Grande Cinema: Best Film – International Competition (2024) – Matthew Rankin
• Montclair Film Festival: Junior Jury – Prize (Cinematography) (2024) – Isabelle Stachtchenko
• Academy Awards (Oscars): Best International Feature Film (Shortlisted)
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