‘Sirat’ may leave you shaken

   It's rare that a film leaves me speechless, but that's what happened with Sirat, a movie that struck me with the unsettling power of its immediacy.

 Spanish director Oliver Laxe takes a desert journey through Morocco, immersing his characters and us in a nomadic rave culture that feels unmoored from ordinary life. Laxe's film works on visceral levels that include a moment that made me gasp. I won't describe it here because the surprising horror of what happens needs to be experienced without anticipation.

  It took me a minute to adjust to Sirat, which begins at a desert rave where men are setting up enormous speakers for a crowd that will respond to a steady stream of electronic music. Without offering context, Laxe deposits us in the midst of dancers who seem carried away by an unrelenting beat. 

  Initially, I feared that this opening salvo would persist. Could this be the whole film? Laxe draws out the scene to make sure we understand the environment we're in. 

  Once that's accomplished, he begins telling a story. A father (Sergio Lopez) and his young son (Bruno Nunez Arjona) wend their way through the dancing crowd. Lopez's character is searching for a daughter he suspects has disappeared into this near-nihilistic world.

  When the ravers are dispersed by the military, Lopez's Louis joins a small band that's heading for another rave. Maybe he'll find his daughter there. 

   These ravers (Jade Oukid, Richard Bellamy, Tonin Janvier, Stefania Gadda, and Joshua Liam Henderson) become an impromptu family, overcoming their initial reluctance to accept Louis and his son, who don't fit easily into a renegade vibe. 

  Sirat becomes a road movie that includes tension reminiscent of the great work that Henri Georges Clouzot did in the classic, Wages of Fear. Water, food, and gas take on new importance in a merciless desert environment.

   The group begins to form bonds, but we're caught up in extreme isolation, a sense of loneliness that's exaggerated at night when headlights penetrate the desert darkness. The travelers represent a cultural mix -- European and North African. Their small society becomes a human oasis in the desert. 

    Unlike the others, Lopez is a professional actor. He has the strength and talent to keep the movie from ripping at the seams, but nothing interferes with the feeling of authenticity Laxe creates.

   I won't say more, but as is the case with a movie such as this, Laxe continues to surprise and stun throughout. Sirat is a rare movie, the kind that made me want to find someone to watch it with again to make sure that I hadn't hallucinated this strangely compelling journey.*

*Sirat will open around the country in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for it in your locale.