Canada | 2024 | 89m | Farsi, French

Universal Language imagines a version of Canada where the two official languages are Farsi and French. How did that happen? How did history play out differently to arrive at that result? If those are the kinds of questions you’re hoping the story will answer, as I was, you’ll be left scratching your head at the end of this movie.

The film’s depiction of Winnipeg, Manitoba dominated by Iranian culture proves to be little more than just another quirky detail in a movie that meanders from one quirky detail to the next. Canada’s being Iranian ends up being no more meaningful than the store that sells only tissue boxes, the child who comes to school dressed as Groucho Marx, or the bus rider who complains about having to sit next to a live turkey. These moments elicited a polite chuckle from me, but what they didn’t elicit was any reason to care about the film, its characters, or its unclear plot. What drew me to the premise of this film was seeing how Canada would be different under Iranian rather than Anglo sensibilities, but the insights the movie provides don’t go much deeper than, “Tim Hortons would serve tea rather than coffee.”

Universal Language seems to resonate with some audiences – enough to the point that it’s been selected as Canada’s entry for Best International Feature Film at next year’s Oscars. But to me, it felt like enduring a long outing with friends who exchanged inside jokes the whole time without bothering to loop me in. The many long, stationary shots of brutalist Winnipeg architecture almost tricked me into thinking that this movie has good cinematography, but ultimately, Universal Language mistakes style for substance, resulting in a boring and disappointing film.

1.5/5

Viewed on September 10, 2024 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as part of the Toronto International Film Festival 2024.