“A strange odyssey with plenty of riches.” Oscilloscope Labs has revealed the first trailer for an acclaimed, one-of-a-kind film from Canada titled Universal Language, the second feature from Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin (after the icy The Twentieth Century). It premiered to rave reviews at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebars – one of the best discoveries of Cannes 2024. Two kids find frozen cash, and try to retrieve it. A tour guide leads confused tourists around Winnipeg sites. A man quits his job, visits his mother. Storylines intertwine surreally as identities blur in a disorienting comedy. Starring Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Nemati, Rojina Esmaeili, Danielle Fichaud, and Sobhan Javadi. Rankin adds: “think of it as cinematic Venn diagramme between Winnipeg, Tehran, Montréal. It’s like a confluence of rivers. Or a Hawaiian pizza. It’s a crazy duck-billed platypus of a movie: one part lonesome Québécois cinéma gris, one part surreal Winnipeg puzzle film, one part Kanoon-style Iranian poetic realism, all three of which reflect and refract through the prism of each other.” Haven’t stopped thinking about it – a must see. // Continue Reading ›
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