“Sirat”: a mystical road trip in the Moroccan desert

THE WORLD'S OPINION – NOT TO BE MISSED

Three vehicles speed across the red earth of the Moroccan desert under an orange and blue sky, kicking up a veil of dust in their wake. The image, which seems to have come straight out of Sirat , Oliver Laxe's fourth feature film, actually closes Mimosas: The Way of the Atlas (2016), his second film. A spiritual odyssey with the feel of a tale that already sought to connect physical and metaphysical worlds.

Nine years later, the Franco-Spanish director has sharpened his weapons and shifted gears. While Mimosas: The Atlas Path won the Grand Prix at Cannes Critics' Week, Sirat was presented in May in the official competition, taking home a Jury Prize and a Cannes Soundtrack Award. And the Festival's reputation, heavy with expectations, as the "shocking revelation."

Music is a good gateway to the heart of this unique film, which invites the viewer to be caught up in the game for nearly two hours of a sensory experience rare in cinema. The feature film opens with the installation in the middle of the Moroccan desert of a gigantic sound system that announces the start of a rave party. Oliver Laxe films at length the dancers caught in a joyful trance against a backdrop of techno music. The staging captures both the collective power of the bodies participating in the same movement and the individuality of some of these Western ravers with alternative looks. Two scales that constantly communicate throughout the film.

You have 73.38% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.