Living in today’s world feels like living the day before the end. You know everything could explode at any moment, but there’s little you can do. This sensation is brought to the cinema screen in Sirāt, hailed as 2025’s darkest film. Directed by French-Spanish filmmaker Óliver Laxe, the film doesn’t just tell a story; it reflects the purest and most painful state of the moment we’re in. Its Jury Prize win at Cannes and selection as Spain’s Oscar entry are proof of the film’s power.
On the surface, the film follows people attending a rave party in the Moroccan desert and a father and son searching for the missing daughter/sister. But as military vehicles raid the party, Sirāt unveils a curtain on a conflict that grows increasingly grave. Through successive striking scenes, the film explores themes like the lost family, the importance of music and human connections, a simmering war in the background, and the end of the world.
Laxe doesn’t fully explain the film’s political or social backdrop. We only hear mentions of radio broadcasts the characters listen to, civilians gathering at national borders, and a Third World War. But for the main characters—Luis (Sergi López) and his son Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona)—none of this matters more than finding their missing family member. They see the collapse of civilization as mere background noise until they find themselves in the middle of a minefield. Only then can they no longer deny being part of this conflict.
The opening text explains the title’s meaning: Sirāt symbolizes the legendary Islamic bridge that must be crossed over hell to reach paradise on Judgment Day. The characters’ journey in the film is just as perilous as this bridge. You might emerge from Sirāt thinking it’s a film about embracing life and dancing even if the apocalypse comes, but that doesn’t seem to be Laxe’s intent. The moment the characters try to forget their pain, everything gets worse. There’s no escape. Even the scene where they dance in the middle of the desert, instead of hallucinatory visuals, shows them as lonely and helpless people in that terrifying void. Because the film conveys that ignoring the horrors of 2025 doesn’t mean escaping them.
Sirāt is a hard and unsettling film that you won’t easily forget once you’ve seen it. But with its artistic boldness and success in capturing today’s spirit, it’s a candidate for one of 2025’s most unforgettable cinematic experiences.
