Festival de Cannes 2025, Dossier 137 and Sirât

©YesICannes.com

The competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2025 continues on the Croisette with two superb films: Dossier 137 by Dominik Moll and Sirât by Oliver Laxe.

Dossier 137 team ©YesICannes.com

Dossier 137 : the competition for the Palme d’Or is now well underway. Two years after the success of La Nuit du 12, crowned with six César awards, the Franco-German filmmaker Dominik Moll returns to the official competition with a thriller, Dossier 137, which tackles the hot topic of police violence following the brutal repression of the Yellow Vests demonstrations. Sirât (The Path) by Franco-Spanish filmmaker Oliver Laxe takes us to one last rave party in the Moroccan desert; an invitation to an inner journey, a meditation on faith and tradition in landscapes of austere beauty.

Dossier 137: The Subtle Art of Psychological Suspense

Dossier 137 marks the long-awaited return of Dominik Moll, master of the psychological thriller with a murky atmosphere. Harry, He’s Here to Help, revealed him in 2000. With this new film, the French director immerses us in the heart of a complex and ambiguous investigation, where the truth constantly eludes and appearances are more deceptive than ever. The film opens with the discovery of an enigmatic file, the famous “Dossier 137,” which contains fragmented but potentially explosive information about a young man injured by a direct shot from a LBD during a Yellow Vests protest. Tasked with shedding light on this case and clarifying the circumstances to establish responsibility, Stéphanie (Léa Drucker), an investigator at the IGPN, the police of the police, finds herself caught in a web of lies, manipulation and unexpected revelations. The truth slips away, appearances are more deceptive than ever and the police hide behind their impunity.

Palpable tension until the last image

Dossier 137 by Dominik Moll is a subtle and captivating psychological thriller that confirms the director’s talent for creating unsettling atmospheres and complex narratives. The characters are ambiguous, their motivations obscure, and each seems to hide a part of the truth. This ambiguity is one of the film’s great strengths, maintaining a palpable tension until the very last image. Léa Drucker embodies with restrained intensity the turmoil and determination of her character. Often closed-off and scrutinizing, his face conveys the complexity of the investigation and the weight of the secrets she uncovers. The talented Yoann Blanc and Guslagie Malanda contribute to creating a gallery of fascinating and ambivalent characters. If Dossier 137 shines with its intelligence and atmosphere, one might regret a sometimes slow pace, but the emphasis on character psychology and the gradual progression of the investigation take precedence over pure action. However, this approach is consistent with Moll’s style and allows for a deeper immersion into the intricacies of the human mind. After watching this film, if you want to smile again, there’s always the cat videos shared on the Internet…

©Quim Vives

Sirât: a challenging and enchanting spiritual quest

The Prophet Muhammad spoke of the Sirât Bridge as being thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword; everyone must cross this ultimate obstacle, suspended above hell, to reach paradise or hell. Presented in the official competition at the 78th Festival de Cannes, Sirât (The Path), the fourth film by Franco-Spanish director Oliver Laxe, takes us on an initiatory, austere, and hypnotic road movie through the desert landscapes and isolated communities of Morocco. True to his contemplative and sensory style, Laxe delivers a demanding yet profoundly immersive work, questioning faith, tradition, and the spiritual quest with a radical approach. The film follows a father (Sergi López) and his son who arrive at a rave lost in the heart of the southern Moroccan mountains. They are searching for Marina – daughter and sister – who has been missing for several months after one of those endless parties. Driven by a desire for purification or spiritual connection, he embarks on a journey through often hostile territories, encountering emblematic figures of faith and tradition, confronting the harshness of nature and the trials of his own inner journey.

©DR

A path to take

What is striking in Sirât is the power of his staging. Laxe films the desert landscapes with a raw and hypnotic beauty. The shots are often long, allowing the viewer to soak in the vastness of the spaces, the texture of the rocks, the harsh sunlight. The camera often becomes contemplative, observing ancestral rituals, whispered prayers, and the slow, precise gestures of the encountered communities. The rhythm of the film is deliberately slow, mirroring the pace of the spiritual journey undertaken by the protagonist. This slowness is essential to create a total immersion in this universe where time seems suspended, where patience and perseverance are cardinal virtues. Silence plays a predominant role, giving way to the sounds of nature. However, the film’s lack of conventional narration and the elliptical nature of the story require the viewer to allow himself to be carried away by the sensory experience and to decipher both the symbols and the silences. With Bruno Núñez, Jade Oukid, Tonin Janvier, Stefania Gadda, Joshua Liam Herderson, Richard Bellamy.