Desert Road

A desert and a gas station with a weirdo and a confused girl after a car accident. The motif of intersecting time planes is not exactly original, but as always, it is reliably entertaining. And when the film’s pace starts to slow, clever connections are made, as in the films of Moorhead and Benson. At one moment, it even seems like a promising reflection on fateful “coincidences”, which touches the heart. But then the director strips the sentiment out of the story in the climax. [Sitges FF] (10/07/2024)

A surprisingly intricate, mind-twisting film about a student caught in a time loop at a petrol station in the middle of the desert. It’s entertaining, clever, engaging, well acted and packed with ideas. And just when you’re about it write it off as a hopeless story with its accumulating weirdness, because you don’t expect a rational explanation, the denouement knocks you out with how elegantly everything fits together. There are a few screenwriting crutches, but the narrative is superbly structured. In her debut film, the talented director creates a solid atmosphere, raises the viewer’s curiosity and even very skilfully works with suspense in several places. (10/08/2024)