20 INSANE Recent Movies You Probably Missed
9. Sirāt
One of the downright coolest films ever nominated for an Oscar, Sirāt is an utterly hypnotic road movie in which a father, Luis (Sergi López), ventures into the rave-happy deserts of southern Morocco with his son in order to track down his missing daughter.
Óliver Laxe's film is a true original - a stylistically gorgeous and wholly unpredictable odyssey that's a vibes-rich filmmaking feat with surprising depth pulsing beneath the surface.
First and foremost, the Oscar-nominated sound design is absolutely immaculate, capturing the visceral thrill of rave music and, later on. the danger too.
Sergi López is stellar in the lead role of Luis, though the Moroccan shooting location feels as much a character as any human being here - a literal force of nature at whose mercy the central characters are held.
Some of Sirāt's bolder and more adventurous turns of plot surely won't be for all tastes, but Laxe is to be commended for daring to go there at all, resulting in one of the year's most distinctive and unforgettable films.