December 18, 2025 – A small group of travelers on a high mountain road engage in conversation about their perilous journey, which goes like this (translated into English subtitles): “So, has World War III broken out? Is this what the end of the world feels like?” “No idea what it feels like ... but the end of the world started long ago.” The movie opens with the following: “There is a bridge called Sirát that links heaven and hell. Those who cross it are warned that its passage is narrower than a strand of hair. Sharper than a sword.”

Those undertaking this perilous journey include a group of travelers in two motor homes headed to a rave music event deep in the desert of southern Morocco near Mauritania. They are being followed by a man, Luis (Sergi López of “Pan's Labyrinth”) and his son, Esteban (Bruno Núñez Arjona) and their dog, Pipa, in a van.

Luis has been warned that this is a long journey on rough roads, and that his van is unsuitable for the trip, but he is desperate to find his daughter, Mar, who he has not seen for five years. Mar likes the rave scene, and Luis has heard that she might be attending this remote desert rave.

The journey unfolds like a nightmare, where just about everything that can go wrong does go wrong. As they travel deeper into the deserts and high mountain passes, deadly dangers appear without warning. They see military convoys in the distance and there are rumors on the radio of major wars breaking out, maybe even the war to end all wars.

Luis helps the ravers by helping them buy gasoline on the black market after chaos caused by the war envelops service stations. In return, the ravers help Luis and Esteban on their journey, at times towing their van. The ravers include Stef (Stefania Gadda) Jade (Jade Oukid) Tonin (Tonin Janvier) Bigui (Richard 'Bigui' Bellamy) and Josh (Joshua Liam Herderson).

Director Oliver Laxe (“Fire Will Come”) uses some non-actors who are using their own names in the movie. This works very well. It helps make the movie seem more authentic. The movie generates enormous suspense because of its many unexpected developments and sudden appearances of deadly danger encountered by people who are not equipped to deal with these perils.

This is a very haunting movie, the kind that sticks with you a while after you watch it, especially now with the increasing levels of danger everywhere these days. A lot of movies depict the end of the world in spectacular ways, but this seems so much more real because it is so closely tied to experiences that real people encounter.

The sense of dread and hopelessness in this movie comes not just from weapons of war, but from the land itself, where there is no water, no food, no shelter from the elements. The vast landscapes make the humans seem tiny and helpless. They are easy prey to the whims of nature, and their own shortsightedness. This movie rates a B+. Dialogue in the movie is in Spanish, French, English and Arabic. I saw this on a DVD screener with English subtitles.

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