Universal Language

Name: Universal Language
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: February 14, 2025
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 84

2025

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

No score yet

tbd

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

tbd	Your Score
tbd	User Score No score yet

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Universal Language (US Trailer 1)

Now Playing: Universal Language (US Trailer 1)

Movie Details & Credits

Oscilloscope Laboratories | Release Date: February 14, 2025 | Not Rated

Summary: In a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled touristsIn a mysterious and surreal interzone somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg, the lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. … Expand

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 89 min

See All Details and Credits

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

David Fear

Feb 14, 2025

There is no single category that you can slot Rankin’s mix of a wink, a nudge and an embrace into, so we guess “lo-fi masterpiece” will have to do until a better option comes along. Read full review

100

Bilge Ebiri

May 25, 2024

Universal Language is a magnificent film, one that feels warm and familiar even as we realize just how startlingly original it is. Read full review

Jim Vorel

Feb 14, 2025

The characters of Universal Language somehow leave you feeling better about humanity than you did before viewing it. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

May 25, 2024

Universal Language is first and foremost a testament to the shared artifice of all filmic storytelling, and to the singular realities it’s able to bring alive in turn. Read full review

Jordan Mintzer

Feb 14, 2025

Rankin seems to be seeking out the universal language of cinema itself. In his own very weird way he manages to find it, turning an everyday place into something momentarily special — which is what all good movies are meant to do. Read full review

Ty Burr

Feb 28, 2025

It is as far from the commercial mainstream as narrative filmmaking gets, but for connoisseurs of the poetic bizarre, it has its very real enchantments. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Feb 14, 2025

The oblique nature of the final act might perhaps be justified if the rest of the movie were better. As it is, I kept thinking, “I guess that’s funny, in a way” rather than actually laughing at any of Mr. Rankin’s aggressively whimsical notions. Read full review

SEE ALL 24 REVIEWS

User Score

Write a Review

tbd

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

No reviews yet.