There is an interesting aesthetics and atmosphere in “Universal Language”. It is winter, and in some way the film’s main characters are in both Iran and Canada. The language alternates between Persian and French. A couple of kids find a banknote frozen in the ice, a guide dressed in ridiculous ear sleeves tells a group of tourists about the history of Manitoba and a lone man in Mustasch visits his mother.
The different episodes are woven loosely together But the “action” is often incomprehensible and lacks excitement or drama. Most of it seems designed to present a plain and endless humor. A living turkey that takes the bus, is it fun? Hmm. A bullish chain -smoking teacher tells their students that they have no future, can it be fun? Well. A live Christmas tree walking around and begging cigarettes?
No, I don’t understand what other critics Have seen in “Universal Language” and I don’t think there is anything to understand. It is possible to see the influences from Aki Kaurismäki or David Lynch in scenography and in the absurd tone, but there is never any darkness or anything else that grabs beyond the beautiful and dreamy images. The cultural “remix” between language and expression from both Iran and Canada gratefully gives “Universal Language” its own expression. But the question is for what?
The message is on a banal level and seems to be something that everyone should be kind to their neighbor. Unfortunately, it is too often that this kind of harmless trifle is met by unison. I’m not convinced.