In a year full of gut-wrenching films — Train Dreams, Hamnet, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You — 2025’s Sirāt stood out as perhaps the most lasting depiction of life’s cruelty. Now, more than six months after its theatrical European release, the Spanish nominee for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards is finally landing at the Belcourt.
Sirāt follows Luis (Sergi López) as he, with his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) and their dog Pipa in tow, searches the Moroccan desert for his missing daughter Mar. With precious few clues to work from, Luis travels to an off-the-grid rave. There are stacks of ground-vibrating subwoofers, and powerful lasers light up the desert sky — but no sign of Mar. Luis hands out flyers with her picture — no one recognizes her. As news of a global-scale military conflict simmers in the background, the party is shut down by the authorities. With no other leads, Luis, Esteban and Pipa follow a tightly knit group of wizened, road-worn ravers farther into the desert, off toward Mauritania in search of the next rave. We quickly discover that Luis’ compact van is hardly suited to the rough terrain — he’s in over his head, and these ravers might be his only shot not only at finding Mar, but at making it out alive.
With the exception of López and the young Núñez, director’s principal cast features exclusively nonprofessional actors. Some of them are missing limbs; many are covered in tattoos, their faces studded with piercings. Their performances lend a deep, organic authenticity to Sirāt. They are survivors, driving Mad Max-esque desert rigs andarmed with all the drugs and supplies they’ll need to make it to the next party. But they are also — and this should ring true to anyone who’s ever rubbed elbows with crust punks, Bonnaroovians, techno hippies or any other stripe of live-music-obsessed, countercultural travelers — truly compassionate. They have been through the shit, and they made it out the other side because they were lent a friendly hand when they needed it. And so they extend the same courtesy to Luis, his son and their dog.
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It’s just that neither Luis nor his new compatriots could possibly prepare for just how badly the desert wants to kill them.
Sirāt is transfixing, both in its plot and its construction. We’re desperate to see what will become of this motley and increasingly beleaguered crew, and the film’s tense, powerful sound design — which earned Sirāt its second Oscar nomination — constantly moves that momentum forward. At no moment will you be able to predict where this film is headed as our caravan winds its way through the unforgiving landscape, and Laxe isn’t about to make it easy on us. This is a very good movie about very horrible times, and it stares us dead in the eye, unflinching, as it punches us in the gut.
Sirāt is shocking, abrupt and bleak — almost cruel in its treatment of the characters it teaches us to love. But after all, can’t you say the same thing about life?
