Matthew Rankin’s films about Canadiana tend to have theatrical audiences rubbing their eyes. In his 2024 cinematic mashup Universal Language, marveling viewers could hardly believe a Canada onscreen where Persian and French are the two official languages and a local Tim Hortons becomes an Arabic tea lounge. With Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney — set for its world premiere on Sept. 15 as part of the Midnight Madness program at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Rankin’s genre-bending collage of archival footage, special effects and animation becomes a digital docufantasia of politics and pop culture, chronicling the journey to…
