A simple synopsis of Sirāt,” Óliver Laxe’s trance-inducing yet shocker of a movie, doesn’t do it justice.
A cursory summation makes it sound like an ordinary thriller at best. Consider its basic plot: Luis (Sergi López) along with young son Esteban go on a desperate search for his rave-loving daughter who’s gone missing in Morocco. They encounter a dirt-caked batch of outcasts/ravers and join them on an eventful journey that gets blanketed in heartache and laden with a few of the most surprising plot developments you’ll see play out on a screen this year.
And that’s all I’ll say about that.
Rightly nominated for two Oscars (best international feature and best sound), Laxe’s uncanny “Sirāt,” which in Islam means “the bridge that spans over hell,” is a sensory experience that all but keeps you unmoored and unstable throughout. It opens in an off-putting yet seductive way, a dance party of sorts to the accompaniment of a thrumming, hypnotic score from electronica wiz Kangding Ray. The mesmerizing power of the booming sound in a southern Moroccan desert prompts the teeming bodies to writhe and dance in an ecstatic state. The extended rave scene establishes the tone in a film that refuses to parallel park into a specific genre or, for that matter, stick to storytelling norms and expectations. And it’s all the better for it.
Laxe, who has made other unique features, has both a distinct vision and voice. He’s a filmmaker interested in rooting around in universal themes about faith, death, the future and our own salvation and redemption. Some films you just engage with passively for around two hours. You watch and you forget. Not so, Laxe’s “Sirat.” You bring it home with you.
The journey reroutes you toward an unforeseen destination that’s open for interpretation, as is much of the rest of this heady film. That all of this is set around a rather hazy, cataclysmic time that gets relegated to the side lends it even more of a haunting power that grabs hold of you.
No doubt, “Sirāt” is open to interpretation and will confound some, perhaps lead to enlightenment for others. I’ve seen it twice and caught more details and meaning in the second viewing and even questioned what I saw and thought about it the first go-around. It’s that kind of organic, ever-evolving and unfolding experience, one that opens doors to more questions than answers and nudges us through our own spiritual awakening and wonderment. This is a director who’s grasping at bigger ideals than many of his contemporaries would even attempt. It’s an exciting and emotional head trip worth revisiting time and again.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com
‘SIRĀT’
4 stars out of 4
Rating: R (Language, some violent content, drug use)
Starring: Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona
Director: Oliver Lace
Running time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
When & where: Now showing in select theaters, expands to additional theaters Feb. 27
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