3:20pm - Monday, Feb 17, 2025
Universal Language
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 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. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.
Structured like a Venn diagram – at the point of confluence between Jacques Tati and Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker Trilogy – UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is at once a diary film, an absurdist city symphony and a welling-up of confinement-era emotion exploring the mysterious interzone where one person ends and the rest of the world begins. An elusive, half-remembered dream of home, solitude, our responsibilities to others and the wild turkeys that haunt us.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE is Canada's official entry to the 2025 Academy Awards, and has been shortlisted for the Best International Film category.
"An off-kilter creation that feels like the wacko offspring of Aki Kaurismäki and Abbas Kiarostami’s cinemas." (The Daily Beast)
"The everyday wonder of late Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami combined with the formal whimsy of Wes Anderson best describes this amusing and affecting second feature from Winnipeg’s Matthew Rankin." (Toronto Star)
"Universal Language is a magnificent film, one that feels warm and familiar even as we realize just how startlingly original it is." (Vulture)
Monday, February 17
Doors 2:50 pm | Movie 3:20 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE "Une Langue Universelle" (Matthew Rankin, 2025 / NR / 89 mins / Persian with English subtitles) An absurdist triptych of seemingly unconnected stories find a mysterious point of intersection in this tale set somewhere between Winnipeg and Tehran.
*Must be 18+ for entry. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film only. Please redeem at the door.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for in-person purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime.
*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds or exchanges.
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