Thematically, the opening wide-angle shot in Universal Language has traces of Wes Anderson with its off-center setup. You see a character of the teacher Bilodeau (Mani Soleymanlou) entering the school (coated with snow) and going towards the classroom, only to witness the children creating a hooplah in Farsi, and yelling ‘You Don’t Even Have The Decency To Misbehave In French?’. As funny and absurdist as this sounds, it sets up the context with two things – the crisp white snow represents the extreme climate of Winniepeg, while the universal language remains Farzi. As the scene continues, you witness a student Omid entering late only for him to reveal how his issue of myopia isn’t resolved as a turkey escaped with his glasses. Again, the mood is absurdist with a deep attempt at showcasing sorrow that sees Bilodeau dismissing the class until Omid finds a replacement for his glasses. And this is where the characterization of the drama kicks in.

You are introduced to an aspiring diplomat Negin (Rojina Esmaeili) and Omid’s classmate who takes it upon herself to help Omid out with his glasses. The underlying emotion is that of compassion and friendship that we all were witness to in Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy Where Is The Friend’s House? (1987). Negin stumbles upon a frozen 500 Riel note (the currency here is Riel based on a homage to Louis Riel, the resistance leader of the land, and similar to Iran’s currency Rial) which she plans to use for Omid’s glasses with the help of her sister Nazgol (Saba Vahedyousefi). All they need to do is cut through the ice-slab with an object even as things are further complicated with the arrival of Massoud (Pirouz Nemati), who vies for the same prize.

Elsewhere, you are also introduced to Matthew (Matthew Rankin) who steps in front of the camera just like Kiarostami (and others in so many Iranian films), while being shown to be tired of his job at a Federal Government office. In a hilarious scene, you see the camera swapping between two angles (similar to the themes of the film with respect to the swapping characters and timelines), wherein the intensity of the scene is elevated through a man crying in a cubicle. Initially, all we know about Matthew is that he wishes to visit his mother whose memory is fading away swiftly, even while shown to be leaving his job for the same reason. On the surface, Matthew remains an introvert almost accustomed to the idea of living in solitude, even while having an underlying layer of love and compassion. In a scene, you see Bilodeau being his co-passenger on a bus while requesting Matthew of sharing a seat with him. And even as Bilodeau goes on a storytelling spree, you see Matthew falling asleep due to the sleeping pills that he had initially consumed.

The cross-cultural theme in the drama is represented through a few vital objects, and through the gaze of a few characters. There is a frequent presence of a turkey in the drama – a bird unheard of in Tehran but readily available in Winniepeg that cuts through the conventional mindset that we as humans are accustomed to. In fact, the turkeys are a mode for an absurdist streak of humour in the narrative. Other than a turkey running away with Omid’s spectacles, in another scene, you see a character refusing to share a bus seat with a Turkey stating how her son died of choking from a marshmello and that she refuses to have any empathy for the bird. Elsewhere, you also have a representation of Tim Hortons (a Canadian Coffee Brand) with the signboard having its name written in Farzi. And the twist lies with its beverage of serving tea as opposed to coffee in Iranian style (with sugar cubes that are fixed in between teeth by folks while sipping it). The cross-cultural theme is wonderfully represented through these objects.

Additionally, we are told that Massoud is a tour guide frequently taking his group on banal tours of empty malls, and brown, grey and biege estates that are common in Tehran albeit the presence of some crisp white snow that acts as a consistent reminder for the theme of the film. This is also a reminder of the cultural heritages of the land that are dunked in a wave of imperialism, whose representation comes across as ‘banal’ for the members of the tour group. It is almost like an anti-thesis to the one mentioned in The Brutalist (2025), that adds texture to the drama while being a commentary on the importance of these heritages in the modern world setup. The absurdity is also extended in the form of a character walking around as a christmas tree, or a wheel-chair bound coyboy selling turkeys at his shop, all acting as a reminder on how different cultures can seamlessly co-exist in a single ecosystem.

But like all Iranian films, there is an underlying softness with the portrayal of deeper emotions on the table. This is particularly true for the character of Matthew even as the viewers are taken on a nostalgic trip with him when he visits his childhood home. Surprisingly, the family that lives there embraces him with all the warmth with a character citing on how Matthew is his fourth brother with the warmest hugs that I have ever witnessed on celluloid. Matthew even visits the grave of his father that is positioned at the centre of the road, and with cars coming and going past it. This itself was symbolic of life, of how people come and go and life goes on. These grounded emotions are enough to move you significantly in the drama that offers a beautiful commentary on universal brotherhood.

The events leading to the final act are interesting too even as Matthew encounters Massooud who had been taking care of his ailing mother. In a scene, you see Massoud telling Matthew on how all humanity is connected on being asked on why he chose to take care of a stranger. But even as Matthew enters the room to meet his ailing mother, the camera pans on a mirror that showcases his reflection even as his mother doesn’t recognize him. In the same breath when Omid enters, you see a warm embrace from the elderly character with the camera panning Matthew’s reflection on just a small mirror. These two events were symbolic of the importance of Matthew in the life of his mother, who did think of Massoud to be her son and Omid her grandson, even as Matthew had a major chunk of his life wasted in work. This is a stark reminder to today’s times when children move out for work leaving their parents behind.

But the writing does the unthinkable in its dying moments, even as all the tales converge. While Omid’s spectacles are found by Nazgol after fighting a turkey, you see the two sisters visiting Omid only to find out that he was Massoud’s son and that Massoud had stolen the ice slab of the frozen note, in order to keep it for himself. Here, both Massoud and Matthew are showcased to be been betrayers – the former with the young, and the latter with the old, but neither of them were supposed to be vilified given their ‘good’ qualities too. So in a scene, you see a character swap that transpires between Matthew who turns Massoud, and Massoud who turns Matthew while breaking the fourth wall. It is symbolic of the fact on how all of us are interchangeable and all of us are one, in very different ways. The finak scene of Matthew-turned-Massoud returning that 500 riel note to the ground (by pouring water) was symbolic of his wanting to change his past with the present, in order so that another needy person would seek to use it. This was his sense of atonement of having to live away from his mother (as Matthew) that makes him more empathetic towards the world even as he wishes to turn a new leaf. And that remains the central theme of the film wrapped in a heartwarming screenplay that spreads the word of universal brotherhood.