Movie: Sirat
Running Time: 1:55
Nominated for: International Feature
How I watched: AMC
When it had me: Uncool dad looking for cool daughter
When it lost me: Too much explosiveness
What systems does it challenge: War
This is a hard movie to review! I'm already intimidated. How do I tell you things and not give too much away?
Okay. Deep breath.
Sirat is about a middle aged dad and his tween son who go looking for an adult daughter that hasn't been responding. She's maybe kind of a wild child so they are looking among counter culture rave-goers in Morocco.
They circulate through the crowds of dancers, hippies and drug users with photos of the missing woman. They are completely out of place but still essentially welcome. The thinnest of leads is offered to them; no one has seen her but perhaps she will go to the next rave.
After an army arrives, they face a split second decision to follow the army's orders or flee into the desert with rave goers. They choose to follow these random people into the desert in order to hopefully find the next rave and the daughter. I've explained all of this to say, this moment of choice was done so well. You feel the urgency, the weight and the woeful lack of time to really think through your actions. And this choice dictates everything that comes after.
The sense of danger and tension and dread in this film builds with a ferocious intensity. The acting is strong from all parties. The cinematography is both beautiful and disorienting. The sound is oppressive at times and always feeding into your anxiety about what's to come.
The movie masters dread, terror, shock and despair throughout its second and third acts. It's really impressively handled.
Until the end. Some may find it was compelling all the way through but for me they tried to hit the same note a few too many times and it took on a note of absurdity that overshadowed the drama. It's a shame to end that way after so much really great work. Still it's a compelling and astounding film.
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