I went into Matthew Rankin's “Universal Language” thinking it was something completely different than what it was, and as such my initial reaction to it was poor. I actually thought that the film was meant to be a parody or spoof of Iranian films from the 1980s and 90's, and as such didn't think it worked at all because it just wasn't funny enough. It wasn't until I was already about half an hour in that I realised and thought “hang on, this isn't a parody but rather a loving tribute to these brilliant Iranian films from the past”, and once I got onboard with what the film really was, I ended up falling in love with “Universal Language”. That said, the film is still very much a comedy and does have fun with the tropes of these Iranian films, but it is so much more heartfelt and real too, which is something a flat out parody could never be.
The central conceit of the film is that Canada (specifically Winnipeg) is still a dual language nationality, but instead of English and French like in the real world, English has been replaced with Farsi. Almost the entire film is spoken in Farsi, with some French thrown in every now and then, but not a word of English is spoken. Right from the opening titles, “Universal Language” feels exactly like an Iranian film with the credits themselves (both opening and closing) being fully in Farsi and subtitled in English. The print quality during these opening credits are damaged (obviously added in post-production) and rough but look like the genuine article. The opening scene plays outside the window of a classroom, before the school teacher arrives at class running late. The camera stays outside the room in the same static shot, and immediately Matthew Rankin gets the tone and look of the film absolutely perfect, despite the freezing climate being very different to that of Tehran. This opening scene is long, but very funny with the teacher chastising the children for mucking around in his classroom while he was late. He then asks one of the boys to read something off the blackboard, who cannot because he has lost his glasses (he says a turkey run off with them). Furious, the teacher suspends all of the students and tells them none of them can return until the boy has found his glasses or got a new pair. This begins the film in earnest as the kids leave the school and start their journey.
From this point on, we meet a large number of colourful characters, adults and children, who appear to have no connection with one another. We start with a pair of siblings, Nazgol and Negin, who, on their walk home, find a banknote frozen in the ice. While attempting to find a way to get it out, they meet an adult man, Massoud, who says he has a friend who has an axe that could get the note out, so if the girls go to his friend, he will keep an eye on the frozen money. They do not trust the man, and assume he will steal the money for himself, but they have no other way of getting it out so begrudgingly go. We follow the girls for a while, before we are suddenly thrust into the life of Matthew (played by the director himself), who is returning to Winnipeg, after being absent for a long time, to visit his mother. It is a bit of a shock when the story changes so abruptly but as it goes along and we meet more characters, just like a Robert Altman film, these characters and places all start to merge into one big story, that is funny, heartfelt, touching, and even a little bit heartbreaking. While it is a bit convenient that all of these characters happen to cross each other's paths over the course of the film, I was impressed how it didn't feel overly planned and mapped out. Like the Iranian films that it is honouring, “Universal Language” has a simple story, but is full of genuine emotion, particularly at the film's end.
Director Matthew Rankin and co-screenwriter Ila Firouzabadi both attended my screening of “Universal Language”, (doing a Q&A after the film), and they explained that they didn't want the film to be too Iranian nor too obviously from Winnipeg, more of a combination of the two. I mentioned earlier how strangely familiar the film looks and feels despite the completely different weather conditions of Winnipeg. The flat buildings on display are similar to the ones you see in Tehran, but the use of long static takes also help in giving the film the look of those Iranian films. One aspect I loved was all the signage around town now being changed into Farsi, as well as the advertisements both in print or on television, or the designs of famous shops like the Tim Horton's coffee shop having its logo now designed in Farsi. It is brilliantly done, and speaking of the coffee shop, it is very amusing that everyone in there is drinking tea (in those little glasses), sitting around and conversing with friends, like they do in Iran. All the little details just feel spot on, that you can tell this has been made by someone who respects the films and culture that he is honouring. During the Q&A Rankin mentions that he actually lived in Iran, due to his love of their films, in an attempt to study cinema there. He is also fluent in Farsi (and English and French too) himself.
Another thing Rankin mentioned was a lot of the film was autobiographical with the story of the banknote being one that his grandmother used to tell, and happened to her when she was young. Apparently her story goes pretty much the same way as it does in the film, which is surprising because it is also very similar to Iranian director Jafar Panahi's debut feature “The White Balloon”. Other autobiographical elements include the Iranian tour guide showing off the questionable “landmarks” of Winnipeg which was based on his dad, and an eccentric old woman who used to walk around with Christmas ornaments on her clothes, which has morphed into a woman dressed as a Christmas tree in the film.
Again, like those Iranian films of the 80's and 90's, Rankin used non-professional actors with the majority of them being his friends. Apparently the only professional actor he used, was the guy who plays the teacher (who is hilarious in his meanness to his students), but the rest were all friends or people they knew from the community. Everyone is so great though, but I have to say that the guy who plays Massoud looks and sounds so much like Borat. My favourite bit of trivia from the Q&A though was when it was mentioned that the title for the film in Farsi is completely different to that of its English title “Universal Language”. Instead the Farsi title translates to “The Song of the Turkey”, which is hilarious, but has to do with one of the side characters, who is a butcher and who lovingly looks after the turkeys he sells. Late during the film, he sings almost a love ballad to these turkeys. Speaking of the turkeys, they are hilarious throughout the film. Seeing a turkey sitting on a seat on the bus (because the butcher paid for a seat for him, so it could be delivered to him in style) is so funny, and when we finally see a turkey with a pair of glasses caught around his legs, you cannot help but laugh because until this moment, you assume the young boy who lost them was lying.
“Universal Language” is a funny movie, but it has the most beautiful, if heartbreaking ending, when Matthew finally meets up with his mother, thanks to Massoud who has been helping her out. Sadly, she does not remember Matthew, and actually confuses him for her snow shoveller (which used to be Massoud), thinking Massoud is her real son. It is so incredibly sad, but Rankin (as director) does an amazing switch with the actors swapping roles on screen from this moment on, so the guy who plays Massoud now plays Matthew, while Rankin himself plays Massoud (as that is how the mother sees them). It is very clever, but you cant help but feel bad for poor Matthew. The visual style of the film also changes towards the end becoming more expressive and surreal. It is really quite beautiful.
Overall, “Universal Language” is a gem of a film. It is funny, charming and genuinely heartfelt. Being a big fan of Iranian films, I really connected with it, but I am not sure if being familiar with those past films is needed to appreciate how great “Universal Language” is. Everything about the film just feels so Iranian, from the sounds of the conversations, the tea drinking, the relationships between people, right down to the film's visual style and especially it's credits. It is a unique film, and I really hope that it finds an audience outside of the festival circuit, because I think “The Song of the Turkey” deserves to be seen by as large an audience as possible.
3.5 Stars.
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