The title ‘Sirāt’ comes from the Arabic “As-Sirāt” and Islamic theology, which means the path one must pass to enter paradise from hell. The story is set in the deserts in southern Morocco. “Southern Morocco Desert” or “Western Sahara”—the name of the location is a controversy, and it’s a place that won’t appear in a travel recommendation list and won’t be covered in travel insurance. Following Luis and his son Esteban in search of the missing daughter Mar, we entered the rave scene of this area.
The geopolitical background is pronounced from the beginning. The military stopped the rave and evacuated the European ravers, with the soldiers speaking French. Luis impulsively followed a small group of 5 Spaniard and French ravers (Stef, Jade, Tonin, Bigui, and Josh) deeper into the desert with an unequipped truck for the possibility of finding Mar in another rave. On the radio, the news reported the ongoing conflicts between two countries and a possible World War III. The group seemed disinterested in this event, yet the conflicts caused a shortage of fuel on the way, forcing them to buy fuel from individual sellers.
With the contemporary rave theme, the camera shows the local landscape and culture without a dialogue explaining the situation, like the scenarios of the deserts and the crowded gas station. Jade entered an empty hut with a small old TV. On its blurry screen, people were circling the Kaaba in Mecca, and Jade silently watched it while standing inside the hut with the prayer chanting faintly playing. Through the rest of the film, the other interactions between the main characters and the local culture are all brief, inexplicit, yet present.
Instead of regional cultures and politics, the diversity presented well in the film is for the people with disabilities. Two main characters, Tonin and Bigui, respectively, have one leg and one forearm amputated. With their disabilities, they are very able: they move, dance, fix stuff, and do tricks as freely as other ravers. The camera didn’t shy away from showing their amputated limbs, and they’re frequently in the center instead. In one sense, Tonin used his leg stump as a clothed puppet to perform a musical number.
The The bond became stronger between the ravers and Lusi and Esteban by overcoming obstacles together on the road. Lusi began to learn the rave culture and appreciate the trust and support of their found family. Suddenly, Esteban died of an accident, and the tone of the film escalated rapidly. When the remaining group sought help from a sheep herder, he looked confused and scared and then ran away without saying a word. Soon after, Jade, Tonin, and Bigui died by stepping on landmines in the desert, which are results of the ongoing conflicts around the borders.
A man and his son arrive at a rave lost in the mountains of Morocco. They are looking for Marina, their daughter and sister, who disappeared months ago at another rave. Driven by fate, they decide to follow a group of ravers in search of one last party, in hopes Marina will be there.
The Mandolorian has a more nuanced and commentative take on masculinity that refrains from praising the toxic traits associated with the social category, while also showing a more positive and transformative representation of masculine characters.
Throughout Brendan Fraser’s career, he has played a plethora of unique, layered characters who explore the importance of not being afraid to display your emotions, something that is often seen to not be a masculine trait. This idea of regulating emotion and what traits men are able to possess creates a toxic atmosphere for men who are often told they should not cry or represent their emotions in any physical way. These characters represent that men can be joyful, emotionally conscious, and sensitive, while also representing their masculine identity instead of painting those qualities as fighting against their masculinity.
Now that we're officially halfway through Hispanic Heritage Month, let's look ahead at movies featuring Hispanic & Latine representation through the rest of 2021.
A group of criminal animals tries their best to reform themselves into good citizens to avoid serving time in prison.
The film does not add anything to its own conversation or genre, and falls flat once it’s about to end and must declare some sort of conclusion.
Stranger Things season 4 ups the ante to the max! The show’s scope has been expanding for the past three seasons, and boy do they give us a spectacle to behold. As much as I love spectacle, this season occasionally buckles under the weight of its own ambition.
