FilmWatch Weekly: Oscar-nominated 'Sirat,' Jessica Chastain in 'Dreams,' and more * Oregon ArtsWatch

"That setup makes Sirāt sound like an arty Euro version of some Liam Neeson paternal vengeance thriller, complete with one-word title. No, sirāt isn't Arabic for taken—it literally translates as 'path,' but it's also a reference to the Islamic end-times prophecy of a bridge that souls must cross to reach the afterlife, the unworthy being cast over its side into eternal damnation. And that eschatological connotation is key to director Óliver Laxe's immersive but unpleasant parable."

"Sensory overload comes early, as the film's wordless first fifteen minutes show the construction of huge speaker towers, and then their thumping, driving bass as it inspires a cadre of mostly Caucasian pleasure-seekers to culturally appropriate, in their own ecstatic way, the physical worship of Sufi Islam's whirling dervishes. The title doesn't appear on screen until a half-hour in."

"Luis and Esteban question anyone they can about Mar's whereabouts, the father's disorientation and desperation palpable. Laxe and his regular co-writer Santiago Fillol don't provide any backstory for the family, so it's impossible to say why Mar did the North African version of following the Grateful Dead on tour."

Sirāt follows Luis and his young son Esteban as they travel to an unauthorized desert festival in Morocco seeking their missing daughter Mar, who disappeared months earlier while with the rave community. The film opens with a wordless fifteen-minute sequence depicting the construction and activation of massive speaker towers that drive ecstatic dancers in movements mimicking Sufi whirling dervishes. Director Óliver Laxe uses the title—referencing the Islamic end-times bridge souls must cross—as a metaphorical framework for this immersive, unsettling parable. The narrative provides no backstory for the family's circumstances, leaving Mar's motivations mysterious. Luis's desperation and disorientation intensify as he and Esteban question festival attendees, navigating a sensory-overwhelming environment of cultural appropriation and spiritual seeking.

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