Jacob Elordi said at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that you should go into SIRĀT knowing absolutely nothing. And SIRĀT 100% benefits from the less you know, the more you will enjoy your experience. However, I can’t fully recommend it, since it’s less of a full-length movie and more of a nerve-wracking experiment in dread, suspense, and what “drives” us to connect with others.
Director Óliver Laxe shot SIRĀT out in the wild Moroccan desert and up in the Atlas Mountains, and just seeing those landscapes on screen instantly transported me back to my own days working on a film in Morocco nearly twenty years ago. I never braved the infamous Tagountsa road, but I did wind my way up those same mountains, white-knuckled and hoping our driver knew what he was doing. The suspense is real. So, to Laxe – shukran bezaf for bringing back some of the best memories of my life.
The setup: a father (Sergi López) heads out with his son (Bruno Núñez Arjona) to find his missing daughter at a rave in the middle of nowhere. What happens next? Buckle up for a ride with a dash of MAD MAX energy and some of the best jump scares in a film from last year. The magic here is that the father is genuinely empathetic, which makes you root for him from the very first scene. There’s barely any backstory, but you don’t need it. You’re in the father’s corner right away.
Final Thought: SIRĀT is a slow-burn thriller that pulsates with tension and sticks with you long after the credits roll. The ending might not totally stick the landing, but there’s more than enough here to keep you glued to the screen. However, if you’re not all in (no multitasking, please), you’ll miss the small moments in this beautiful love letter to human connection.
It’s available in limited theatrical release.
