Oliver Laxe’s “Sirāt” begins with a father (Sergei Lopez) and his son arriving in the desert to attend a massive rave party.
The pair is searching for a family member who has been missing, and they find themselves in with a group of nomadic rave enthusiasts who take them in like family. The initial search becomes a trek across the desert, with initial bonding becoming an existential nightmare.
Sublime cinematography and an intriguing start are all there is to this silly existential drama. Full of bad, repetitive techno (blasted from an imposing speaker into the desert) and fails, beyond the optics, to create rave culture and the neo-bohemian lifestyle, which is something even “Point Break” (1991) was able to accomplish.
I was ready to give up on this strange, off-putting art movie exercise long before it finally, mercifully faded to black. For a film that was acclaimed on the festival circuit and is somehow a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee, I went in with high hopes and emerged feeling duped.
How is it that this film and not “It Was Just An Accident” is up for an Oscar?
I recognize that I’m among the few who aren’t showering this with acclaim but, of the many late 2025 films that carried awards buzz, this one especially ran out of steam by the end, particularly when compared to how promising the first act is.
A horrifying, unexpected tragedy provides a real second act shock, but this cruel twist of fate literally and figuratively stops the movie.
The third act is ridiculous, losing all the goodwill of the buildup. I won’t describe it and spoil the surprise, but the final obstacle that our vanload of survivalists must face isn’t something you wouldn’t see in an ’80s-era Stallone or Schwarzenegger vehicle; whereas this set piece could work in a gleefully cheesy action movie, it struck me as unintendedly hilarious here.
“Sirāt” tries to incorporate elements of “The Bicycle Thief” (1948), “Sorcerer” (1977), “Groove” (2000) and others, but mostly duplicates the nonsensical arrogance and unpleasant feel of “The Bad Batch” (2016).
Actually, “The Bad Batch” at least offers the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of having Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey in the same movie.
Lopez, the wonderful actor and star of Dominick Moll’s 2001 masterpiece “With a Friend Like Harry…” and the villain of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), gives his character so much soul and lived-in realism, that he bravely carries the movie on his back for most of the way.
The visuals are cool, but I stopped caring whether the missing daughter would be found by the midpoint, let alone if anyone survives, long before explosions and a last-minute drug trip are introduced.
For all the life-or-death struggles that challenge the protagonists, “Sirāt” fails to work as well as it should, because it never overcomes how dumb these travelers are. For all the man vs. nature themes on hand, the film gets literally lost in the desert.
Two Stars