Universal Language (2024 film)

Universal Language
Theatrical release poster
FrenchUne langue universelle
Persianآواز بوقلمون
Directed byMatthew Rankin
Written byIla Firouzabadi
Pirouz Nemati
Matthew Rankin
Produced bySylvain Corbeil
StarringRojina Esmaeili
Saba Vahedyousefi
Sobhan Javadi
Pirouz Nemati
Mani Soleymanlou
Danielle Fichaud
CinematographyIsabelle Stachtchenko
Edited byXi Feng
Music byAmir Amiri
Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux
Production
company
Metafilms
Distributed byMaison 4:3
Release date
  • May 18, 2024 (2024-05-18) (Cannes)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesFrench
Persian
Box office$4,550[1]

Universal Language (French: Une langue universelle, Persian: آواز بوقلمون, romanized: Avaz boughalamoune, lit. 'Lovesong for a Turkey'[2]) is a 2024 Canadian absurdist comedy-drama film, co-written and directed by Matthew Rankin.[3]

It received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the top 5 international films of 2024 by the National Board of Review.[4] The film was selected as the Canadian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.[5]

Plot

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Described as a "surreal comedy of disorientation" set "somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg", the film blends the seemingly unrelated stories of Negin and Nazgol, who find money frozen in ice and try to claim it; Massoud, a tour guide in Winnipeg who is leading a confused and disoriented tour group; and Matthew (Rankin), who quits his unfulfilling job with the provincial government of Quebec and travels home to Winnipeg to visit his mother.[2]

Cast

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Release

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The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2024,[6][7] and had its North American premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival.[8][9]

It is also slated to screen as the opening film of the 2024 Festival du nouveau cinéma.[10] It will also screen in the Currents section of the 62nd New York Film Festival.[11] The film was selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 under the World Cinema section, where it was screened together with An Urban Allegory by Alice Rohrwacher and JR.[12]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 30 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]

Fionnuala Halligan of Screen Daily wrote that the film "is doggedly eccentric, something that’s mirrored in its exaggerated aesthetic. There’s a pink cowboy-hatted singing turkey-shop worker; a man wandering around wearing a lit Christmas tree over his body; an absurdist bingo hall where men and women are interchangeable. Inside a pharmacy, all the labels are a generic Adam Stockhausen tribute — only they’re beige. There’s also a ‘Kleenex repository’ and reference made to a ‘Winnipeg Earmuff Authority’. Sad-eyed characters say things like: “My son choked to death in a marshmallow-eating contest,” or “she was flattened in a steamrolling accident”. You could call it whimsical. Absurdist. Contrived. Or an unexpectedly unusual concept album that doesn’t quite come off but was worth the effort. And you would be correct every time."[15]

Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich noted that the film "is first and foremost a testament to the shared artifice of all filmic storytelling, and to the singular realities it’s able to bring alive in turn."[16]

In Vulture, Bilge Ebiri called the film the best he had seen at Cannes and "a magnificent film, one that feels warm and familiar even as we realize just how startlingly original it is."[17]

Awards

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At Cannes, the film won the Directors Fortnight program's first Audience Award.[18]

The film won the top prize at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival, the Bright Horizons Award.[19] At TIFF, it won the Best Canadian Discovery Award,[20] and it won the Summit Award for Best Canadian Feature at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival.[21]

The film has been selected as Canada's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.[22]

The film was shortlisted for the 2024 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.[23]

The film was named as a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2024.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Universal Language (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Melanie Goodfellow, "Best Friend Forever Boards Sales On Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Title ‘Universal Language’; Oscilloscope Takes U.S. Rights". Deadline Hollywood, April 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Mirza, Taimur Sikander (April 16, 2024). "Matthew Rankin comedy to debut in Directors' Fortnight in Cannes". Playback.
  4. ^ "2024 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  5. ^ Grobar, Matt (August 27, 2024). "Matthew Rankin's 'Universal Language' Named As Canada's Oscar Entry For 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (2024-04-16). "Cannes 2024 Directors' Fortnight line-up unveiled". Screen International.
  7. ^ "Une langue universelle". Quinzaine des cinéastes. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  8. ^ Kay, Jeremy (2024-08-06). "Toronto unveils 43 titles in Centrepiece programme". Screen International.
  9. ^ "Universal Language". TIFF. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  10. ^ Rioux, Charles (2024-09-25). "Une langue universelle de Matthew Rankin en ouverture du FNC". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French).
  11. ^ "62nd New York Film Festival Currents Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  12. ^ "An Urban Allegory + Universal Language". MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Universal Language". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 September 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  14. ^ "Universal Language". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  15. ^ Fionnuala Halligan, "‘Universal Language’: Cannes Review". Screen Daily, May 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Ehrlich, David (2024-05-24). "'Universal Language' Review: Guy Maddin Meets Abbas Kiarostami in a Deadpan Canadian Fable". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  17. ^ Ebiri, Bilge (2024-05-23). "The Best Movie at Cannes This Year Is an Oddball Canadian Comedy". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  18. ^ Ben Dalton, "Matthew Rankin’s Persian, French-language drama ‘Universal Language’ wins inaugural Cannes Directors’ Fortnight audience award". Screen Daily, May 23, 2024.
  19. ^ Sarah Downs, "2024 MIFF Awards Winners Announced". Variety, August 26, 2024.
  20. ^ Steve Pond, "‘The Life of Chuck’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". TheWrap, September 15, 2024.
  21. ^ Mullen, Pat (2024-10-03). "Ninan Aussat: We, the Children Leads VIFF Winners". POV Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  22. ^ Jamie Casemore, "Rankin’s Universal Language is Canada’s pick for 97th Oscars". Playback, August 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Connie Thiessen, "Sweet Angel Baby leads DGC Awards’ film nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Nicholas Sokic, "TFCA unveils 2024 Canadian film nominees". Playback, December 16, 2024.
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