19/35
An absurd triptych of seemingly unrelated stories find a mysterious point of intersection in this story, set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran. category of the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. These Eyes was written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings Starring The Guess Who. From the cinematography and the usual search for symmetry, static or traveling shots and a pleasant aesthetic with a dreamlike atmosphere that enhances the universality of the setting, to the story that revolves around the various characters, how their lives intertwine and give rise to dialogue, sometimes polite, sometimes not. The influence of Wes Anderson permeates Matthew Rankin’s film from start to finish. Like Anderson’s films, Rankin’s is eager to explore the reality of his film, a reality full of idiosyncrasies that serve as fertile ground for comedy. An angry teacher yells at students in a classroom, one of whom claims that a turkey stole his glasses; another is dressed as Groucho Marx because he wants to be a comedian; and another as a fashionista. Freelance tour guide with special picks for your excursion, etc. With a comedy made of biting, ruthless and black humor, Une langue Universelle manages to be funny whenever it wants to be. There are many moments in which its action borders on the absurd or surreal, indulging in the comedy that overwhelms it, but never undermines its intent of thought-provoking depth. Rankin’s skill can evoke a surreal dreamlike fable, but also a distinct introspective melancholy. Elements and sensations that combine to give life to a special experience between places and times, reality and dreams. For example, in the reality of the film, even though we are in Canada, French, not to mention English, seems to be a second language and in its place is Farsi. Everyone is talking about it, and there are signs and billboards written inside it that describe the result as something both close and distant, the known and the unknown, mixed together in a new reality that is culturally and demographically blind. In terms of the cinematography that often recalls Anderson’s shots and movement as in a color palette, there is a constant desire to inhabit the spaces where the characters are. The camera is sometimes static from afar, observing their movements and how they affect their surroundings, rather than focusing on their faces and expressions up close. It’s as if the place is as important to the narrative as the characters, and Rankin wants to make sure we immerse ourselves in it like tourists from a foreign land. And even if we know these cities by name, within the film and its demographic profile, which is unmatched in our knowledge, there may be reasons to delve deeper into these spaces.