Exploring the Road Film Genre & Sirat

The road film genre came into existence in 1930s America, but has since expanded internationally to explore themes of rebellion, existentialism and connection across various contexts. Mass expansion of the auto industry and paving of the U.S. Route 66 during the 1930s saw the creation of the road genre while automobiles were still a relatively new invention. Typically in road films, a central road trip of the protagonists leaving home and their everyday lives sparks character transformation. Often this change is caused by encountering an unfamiliar cultural identity or different way of living. 

The road movie is most associated with the United States, with examination of foundational myths of individualism and populism prompted when the protagonists encounter cultural differences for the very first time. They are removed from conventional society and enter an alternative space in which to experience such self-transformation. The genre itself has a history in classical epic journeys, like the Odyssey and the Aeneid. Frank Capra’s Oscar winner It Happened One Night (1934) is one of the earliest examples of the road genre. A wealthy woman is removed from her elite background to explore Middle America and is transformed by meeting individuals who she would not have encountered in her previous life.

There is usually a tension present between the existentialism of wide, never-ending open roads and the small confines of a car or motel room, establishing intimacy and tension between characters. The existence of an outside space, an extension beyond structural society, creates both a literal and metaphorical idea of crossing borders and boundaries. Themes of rebellion, escapism, discovery and transformation are infused in the genre. 

The road genre would travel to Europe in the films of Jean-Luc Godard and Wim Wenders’ The Road Trilogy. The genre also appealed to New Hollywood as a vehicle for rebellious characters, since going on the road could represent leaving normative family values for a nomadic life. David Laderman wrote the core theme of the road film is ‘rebellion against conservative social norms’. Themes of the disintegration of the family and physical movement away from the stability of the home is seen in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Easy Rider (1969). Such films often featured little in plot but provided rich character studies with the transformation of the landscape mirroring the transformation of the protagonists. 

Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt redefines the road genre, following a father in search of his missing daughter with his young son trailing a group of ravers through the deserts of southern Morocco. The title refers to Islamic scripture, Sirat translates to "a path" or "a road". In Islamic theology, this road holds two meanings: the path by which we should live by in this world and the bridge which everyone must cross on the Day of Judgement. It is an emotional journey of grief and existentialism set against a desolate backdrop of rolling sand dunes, aesthetically akin to the Mad Max series. 

The first road movies explored the discovery of new territories or pushing boundaries of a nation and were influenced by early Westerns. However, road movies could show how national identities were changing and explore cultural conflict, for example Touki Bouki (1973) addressed themes of escapism and political disillusionment in Senegal or The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) which represented diversity and discrimination across rural Australia.

The road film is a beloved and enduring genre, relatable in its quest for discovering oneself. The act of travelling in the search for connection and discovering something more than what we already know is an act which brings people together and is indebted to this genre.

Sirāt plays Thursday June 11th in the Pavilion Bar. Tickets available here.