User reviews

Bleak, somber depiction of the nomadic life of early Cro-Magnon man. "The Tribe" is a small family clan of hunters and gatherers who must constantly keep moving over the landscape in order to survive. A death, injury, sickness or infertility is a major threat to these people. Predators and cannibalistic "Neanderthals" also take their toll. At this stage, man himself is an endangered species as this film eloquently conveys. As you get to know this band through their tribulations and stoic persistence to survive, you will come to wonder at the miracle of our prehistoric progenitors' battle with nature, armed with only the most primitive of tools and the will to live.

This story of a prehistoric tribe puts the tribe in its simple setting, struggling to survive, and despite the lack of guns, horses, and big bangs, entertains us with the characters of the tribe.

The tribe is very advanced, and makes one wonder when such civilized ideas came into play. Despite the fact that when a man is injured, he is left behind, the tribe is remarkably moral. Women and children are protected. The maternal instinct is something found in Nature, but there is no such thing as a paternal instinct. This film allots a protective and civilized tribe this trait to help us care about them.

Past the not so great Science, the characters are likable. The leader is very modern, and understanding of people. The man whom he delegates as his second, a survivor from another tribe that was attacked by savages, is a vengeful character. These characters remember incidents, and they communicate unusually well. This is literary license to make it easier to tell a story.