Still from Universal Language (2024), dir. Matthew Rankin, with Rojina Esmaeili as “Negin” (image courtesy Oscilloscope Laboratories) In Universal Language, director Matthew Rankin transforms the ...

There’s a notion in the film industry that comedies don’t travel. Jokes have a regional audience, and humor gets lost in translation, the thinking goes. But director Matthew Rankin thinks more of ...

There’s a scene partway through Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language that is a triumph of visual filmmaking. One of the protagonists, Matthew (aka Matheiu), played by the director himself, is arranging ...