Sirat is a warning to the Bonnaroo/Burning Man/Tomorrowland lovers out there. Yes, you can have a great time dancing out your feelings. But the minute someone starts staying, “it’s gonna be lit; we’re in the Moroccan desert, with no one in sight but us,” really take the time to plan out several steps ahead. Cause if you don’t Oliver Laxe’s film will maybe make you sit that next one out, for something closer to civilization.
Many people are having a blast to start Sirat, including Stef (Stefania Gadda), Josh (Joshua Liam Henderson), Tonin (Tonin Janvier), Jade (Jade Oukid), and one armed Bigbui (Richard Bellamy), dancing the days and nights away in their rave in the deserts of Morocco. But Luis (Sergi Lopez) and Esteban (Bruno Nunez Arjona) are not, walking through the dancers looking for their lost daughter/sister. When the military brakes up this party, the ravers above go on the run in their tanker like trailer homes. They take pity on poor Luis and his plight, allowing him to follow behind in his poorly equipped minivan to the next desert rave, hundreds of miles away across the barren desert landscape.
At first, Oliver Laxe shows us the positives of rave life. This random collection of “miscreants” forms a found family, with everyone excited at living and dancing in the here and now. Lost souls like Luis and Esteban are welcome too, as long as they understand the risks involved and how to be supportive like a good family member should be. The groups rub off on one another, with the practical Luis giving some general help to the ravers while they prove also more resourceful to Esteban and Luis as the journey into the desert goes deeper and deeper. While there are tense moments, Oliver Laxe always has someone come and fix the problem, moving forward toward that next great party out there somewhere.
Until that help stops arriving. What was a weird road trip quickly transforming into a waking nightmare for everyone. Those little hints Laxe drops in the first half of danger lurking on the horizon come with brutal force right in the middle of the story. You don’t see it coming, and it is brutal and horrifying. The tone completely changes after that, and any hopes for a dance party ending are replaced instead with unadulterated tension and fear for our ravers/searchers. The final 30 minutes of Sirat is when Laxe is at his best, lulling us into a false detente only to twist the knife again, unexpectedly. Sergi Lopez was always going to be great, but I had deep affection for all the relatively unknown rest of the cast, especially Stefania Gadda and Richard Bellamy, who leave lasting impressions with nuanced character work.
So sorry, raver’s I’m out. I will consider coming if there’s public transportation nearby. Or we’re smack in the middle of the city. The minute you try to pitch me by saying, we’re in the middle of nowhere, I’m gonna stop you, and walk away. I accept my lame, uncool fate for the Holiday Club 90s nights every Saturday night. Much more my speed.