Of the five films up for an international Oscar, Sirat is by far the most unsettling.
I say that without fear of contradiction, even though I have yet to see most of its competitors. Watching Spain’s nominee is simply the kind of nerve-wracking experience that few films can match.
French-born director/co-writer Oliver Laxe begins his tale as a massive rave is getting underway in the middle of the Moroccan desert. After arriving in trucks and other weather-beaten vehicles, hardcore enthusiasts begin dancing ecstatically to bass-heavy beats that echo against rocky canyon walls.
It’s into this scene that a middle-aged Spaniard named Luis (Sergi Lopez) arrives with his young son, Esteban (Bruno Nunez Arjona). Passing out fliers with pictures of his grown daughter, Luis explains that she’s disappeared to join the raver lifestyle, and he thinks she might be here.
As it turns out, no one has seen her, but Luis learns she could be at an upcoming rave happening far to the south in Mauritania. Then comes an unexpected complication followed by a fateful decision.
Ravers do their thing in an early scene from Sirat.
Soldiers arrive and order all Europeans to leave the country due to a developing military conflict. When a few ravers revolt by instead heading south toward their next gathering, Luis decides to follow, thus sending him and his son on a journey into a hellish landscape filled with dangers both natural and manmade.
“Hellish,” by the way, is an appropriate adjective, according to words that flash on the screen at the film’s beginning. Referring to Islamic beliefs concerning the path souls must follow in the afterlife, they explain that the Sirat bridge connects heaven and hell and is “narrower than a strand of hair and sharper than a sword.”
Translation: Salvation is hard to come by.
Luis (Sergi Lopez, right) with some of his newfound raver friends
For those of a spiritual bent, this offers one way to view the nightmarish trip Luis, Esteban and their adopted raver friends take as they head across the desert and over treacherous mountain roads—all the while hearing news reports of military actions that threaten to escalate into World War III.
For those of a more political bent, the trip might be seen as the emotional approximation of what it’s like to live in a world that increasingly seems at the mercy of leaders who have no compunction about starting wars and killing innocents to serve their own purposes.
However you interpret the characters’ tribulations, you can’t help but be moved by them thanks to director Laxe and collaborators such as cinematographer Mauro Herce and composer Kangding Ray, as well as a convincing cast consisting largely of gifted amateurs.
Sirat, in other words, is one painful ride.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Sirat (rated R) can be seen at select theaters, including the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, and is scheduled to expand nationwide beginning March 6.
This article first appeared here.
