By John Corrado

The second feature from Canadian director Matthew Rankin, following his highly stylized Mackenzie King biopic The Twentieth Century, Universal Language is an absurdist dramedy set in an alternate version of Manitoba where everybody speaks Farsi instead of English.

It’s a farcical, high-concept setup that the director not only fully commits himself to (even the signs for the local Tim Hortons are in Farsi), but also uses to craft a sincere exploration of Canadian identity. The result is a cross-cultural pastiche that recalls the work of Rankin’s fellow experimental Canadian director Guy Madden, whose films are synonymous with Winnipeg, while also feeling inspired by Iranian cinema.

Rankin’s film is set during an icy winter and stuck in a sort of permafrost world that feels neither past nor present. Rankin’s version of Winnipeg shares the same history as our country, but it has diverged at some point to create a world that has been described as “somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran.” It’s a place where the currency is named after Louis Riel, who is celebrated with roadside tributes.

This currency plays a key role in the plot, through a five hundred Riel bill found trapped in the ice, that school kids Negin (Rojina Esmaeili) and Nazgol (Saba Vahedyousefi) are trying to claim. Their quest to free the trapped cash is one of the film’s three main story threads. The quirky cast of characters also includes Massoud (Pirouz Nemati), a tour guide who leads tourists around increasingly banal Winnipeg attractions, and Matthew (played by Rankin), who leaves his bureaucratic job in Quebec and is returning home to Winnipeg.

It would purely be a slice-of-life film if there weren’t these various through-lines and side-quests to keep us locked into the narrative, which unfolds with a somewhat clever non-linear structure. It’s punctuated by deadpan humour; Rankin meticulously sets up sight gags, and delivers punchlines with the driest of wit. The cinematography by Isabelle Stachtchenko features precise, eccentric framings that recall Wes Anderson in their wide, observational style. The production design accentuates liminal spaces and cement-coloured brutalist structures.

Rankin, who co-wrote the film with Ila Firouzabadi and Pirouz Nemati, embeds an autobiographical element into the story as well, offering an off-kilter though wholly affectionate tribute to the Winnipeg where he grew up. As such, the low-key absurdity of Universal Language makes for a quietly offbeat viewing experience, but one that ends up being strangely melancholic as well. Rankin is able to pull this all together by the end in a deeply satisfying way, offering a celebration of the uniqueness of Canadian culture and its myriad of influences.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Universal Language opens exclusively in theatres in limited release on February 7th at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. It’s also screening as part of Canada’s Top Ten.