Page 149 - Metropolis Megazine No.120 International

those who will teach them are Stef (Stefania an ordinary citizen caught up in an extraordinary
Gadda), Josh (Joshua Liam Henderson), Tonin adventure, will feel compelled to join the future of
(Tonin Janvier), Jade (Jade Oukid), and Bigui those men and women. At a certain point, he can
(Richard Bellamy). I repeat, they are ordinary think of nothing else but crossing that Sirât, a
people; in fact, they are human wrecks (one is purgatory turned desert, which will probably lead
missing part of a leg, another part of an arm, and only to emptiness. Because, in truth, in such a
most seem soulless). The scars of drug use, both turbulent situation with a thousand unknowns,
firm and soft, are visible on their bodies and in reaching Paradise is nothing more than a pipe
their behaviour. They all live in a state of dream. Some describe this film as a meditation on
permanent wandering. They are of different death and mourning. I share this opinion and
nationalities, but they are somewhat stateless. would add that it can also be considered the filmic
They are nomads by choice and conviction and representation of the last breath of the human
share their fate with the true nomads they race in the face of the abyss and the uncertainties
encounter. From an ideological or behavioural of the future.
point of view, they are certainly not
recommendable figures. If necessary, they steal or And here I remain, thinking to myself: after the
haggle for gasoline with desert dwellers who live final credits, did Luis find his daughter Mar,
on meagre resources to fuel their trucks. However, and, now that we think about it, did they both
as the minutes pass, the viewer begins to feel a find their true place in this “The Parable of the
certain empathy, or rather, a greater Desert”? in the post-narrative realm? Without a
understanding of their motivations. By the end of doubt, «Sirât» is a work that allows us multiple
the film, we would no longer fear encountering and even more daring freedoms of interpretation.
them on a dark street or in a dead-end alley. Luis, JOÃO GARÇÃO BORGES

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