Matthew Rankin's debut feature The Twentieth Century is among the weirdest and most stylistically unique movies I think I've ever seen. His follow up Universal Language may just be even stranger. I actually had a ticket for something else the night I wound up seeing this, but upon hearing Canada will be selecting it as the submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars, I had to make it a priority.
Set in a fictionalized version of Winnipeg, the film follows several randomly converging storylines. A man named Matthew (played by Rankin) is coming home to be with his family after quitting his job in Montreal, two students are trying to recover some frozen Iranian money from a spot of ice to help a friend who has lost his glasses and is being berated by their teacher who refuses to teach until he can see the blackboard, and Massoud (Pirouz Nemati) works as a tour guide of Winnipeg's lacking landmarks while also caring for Matthew's mother.
The Twentieth Century took a very liberal approach with telling Canadian history, and here we see a very different version of Winnipeg than real life. That being said, I've never been so I can't speak to everything, but something tells me the old school Tim Hortons, men dressed as Christmas trees, and nearly everything being spoken or written in Farsi, are but a few examples of where this version of the city differs from reality. It's ultimately hard to analyze this film, as it truly is such a singular strange work. I'll get it out of the way now, I really didn't take anything from this emotionally. It's a fascinating watch but it uses a deadpan style of acting, and coupled with how strange it is I wound up not feeling much of anything by the time it ended. I don't necessarily think that's to the film's detriment though.
Where the film lacks in story and emotional effect, it makes up for in the trance the weirdness puts you under. The otherworldly sets and cinematography make this almost hypnotizing, not due to what is happening on screen but how it all looks. This alternate version of Winnipeg is fascinating to explore even though much of the film is poking jokes about its mundanity. The deadpan delivery of most of the dialogue is hilarious, largely thanks to its juxtaposition to the bizarre style. We watch strange scenery while every character speaks in a matter of fact manner that just doesn't feel like it matches, and it works brilliantly in delivering funny moments.
All in all it's hard to feel invested narratively due to the absurdity and strangeness of this, but that does make for a very entertaining viewing experience for anyone who enjoys fun set design and deadpan comedy. 3.5/5
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