Sirāt (2025)

No matter how desperate circumstances may become in our lives, they can always get worse, presenting us with an exacting test of our capabilities and will to survive. And, in doing so, the experience provides us with an opportunity to look at how unimaginably resilient we can be, no matter how seemingly impossible the odds may appear stacked against us. Those are the conditions put to a worried father, Luis (Sergi López), and his young son, Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona), as they earnestly go in search of their missing daughter/sister at a rave in Morocco. Unfortunately, there’s no sign of her, but a band of ravers (Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Henderson, Richard “Bigui” Bellamy, Tonin Janvier, Jade Oukid) suggests that they consider looking for her at another upcoming event soon to be held in Morocco’s southern desert near the Mauritanian border. However, as the festivities play out, troops arrive on the scene, ordering the evacuation of all Europeans in the wake of the outbreak of war. But, as the attendees are rounded up for removal, the five rebel ravers flee, with Luis and Esteban in tow, with the intents of traveling to the next event and continuing the search for the missing woman. The unlikely traveling companions thus embark with a sense of adventure and hope, unaware of the many perils that await them on the road against a backdrop wherein World War III has apparently begun. The challenges soon descend upon the travelers thick and furious, significantly impacting their journey, not to mention their ability to stay alive. Can they rise to the occasion? That’s what writer-director Oliver Laxe explores in this edgy road trip saga, punctuated by an array of shockingly unexpected developments, plot devices that successfully take big chances as this intensely engrossing story unfolds. The narrative is backed by a positively mesmerizing soundtrack, one of the best I’ve seen come out of a movie in ages, as well as stunning desert cinematography and fine performances by the entire ensemble. Admittedly, a few sequences could be better explained, and the back story across the board could have been better developed. However, when faced with conditions like these, it may be easy for the characters to disregard them in the face of more pressing concerns, and that could be the intent underlying their exclusion here. Either way, the lack of elaboration in these areas doesn’t significantly detract from the aspects that truly work best in this superb release, one honored with four awards at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, including the prestigious Jury Prize, as well as a nomination for the Palme d’Or, the event’s highest honor. Look for this one to potentially garner more traction as movie awards season plays out, recognition that the picture truly deserves.

“Luis” (Sergi López) and his young son “Esteban” (Bruno Núñez Arjona) have heard that their missing daughter/sister has joined the rave community deep in the Moroccan desert. Their arrival amongst a crowd of people who just want to dance under the stars until the wee small hours leads to little, but they do alight on a group of travellers whom they decide to follow when the police arrive to shut them down. They are soon heading along dirt tracks in a convoy of three vehicles towards the Mauritanian border where the next party is due to happen and where they hope to continue their search. It’s along the way that the group begin to bond, despite their initial suspicions of each other, before a tragedy on a mountain pass introduces a distinctly perilous phase to their travels through an area profoundly unsafe for all concerned. There is something really quite effective about the contrasts between the almost hedonistic use of music and sound at the start and the bleakness of the desert (and the conclusion of the film) and visually their journey is captured impressively. The story, well that’s not so well developed as none of the characters have much meat on their bones nor are we really read into the mentality of the “family” of rave-hoppers who are all different but united by a common, and entirely voluntary, dependence that resonates compellingly, if a little too superficially. It’s possibly the young Arjona who steals the show here but there are also a solid efforts from “Bigui” Bellamy and from Jade Oukid as they illustrate well the attractions of escaping the rat race and casting just about all of their socially induced inhibitions asunder. The conclusion did seem to be a little unnecessarily brutal, but then again perhaps that why dreams so often don’t come true, or turn into cauchemars. It looks stunning throughout and it’s emotionally-charged combination of audio and cinematography does benefit from a cinema experience if you can - it might lose much of that potency on the television, and thereby expose some of it’s less well cooked characterisations.