The Tribe

2014 was a year of impressive films that utilized supposed 'gimmicks.' Boyhood had its 12 years, Birdman has its single shot, The Grand Budapest Hotel played with ratios, and The Tribe, a film that played well at film festivals without breaking out anywhere, has unsubtitled Ukrainian sign language. It's bold, and tough to get used to, but you have to subdue yourself to the fact that you will never know the details. It's kind of a shame, the beauty of film is in the details, but The Tribe has enchanting visual poetry. A lot of the film is done in long takes, often following characters from behind with steadicam leading to a separate scenario, and it's immaculately choreographed. The extent of Miroslav Slaboshpitsky's ambition exhausts itself there however, although it does have inventive A Clockwork Orange-esque brutality. There's a cold intimacy between the characters, whether it be through punches or sex, but we're not with them. It's a film that deliberately pushes the audience away by being lost in translation. With characters acting solely as archetypal figures, it lacks anything to identify with. It's such a shame because it could have been more concisely powerful rather than a purely superficial and disconnected experience. No deaf person will sleep well afterwards though, even if they don't understand the sign language. It touches a nerve there at least.

7/10

The Tribe is a remarkable movie set in a boarding school for deaf students, or more specifically its dark side. The world of bullying, violence, juvenile delinquency and prostitution. It is brutal, visceral and tragic. The dialogue is in Ukrainian sign language without any subtitles or spoken words. I expected watching such movie to be a torture. I was wrong. It is gripping, immersing, thought-provoking and quite watchable. But it does demand attentive, patient and interested viewer. When Norma Desmond, a character played by Gloria Swanson in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard said: "We didn't need any dialogue, we had faces", she was part right. We really do not need dialogue to grasp the story, but we don't need faces either. We never see any close ups in The Tribe. What we do see is a bigger picture. And that's what this movie is about.

The setting for "The Tribe" is a high school for the deaf, in or very near Kyiv, Ukraine. Filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi has pulled off quite an accomplishment - he's fashioned an excellent film where all the actors use only sign language; that means no subtitles & no overdubs.

Well, if I can learn Chaucerian Middle English in 1 week in order to study the works of the great poet Geoffrey Chaucer, then I can certainly recalibrate my mind to concentrate more intensely on body language & visual cues, so I can follow the story-line of "The Tribe."

A new student arrives at this boarding school, Sergei, played by Hryhorin Ferenko. The problem? The school must be underfunded, because there are few teachers & almost no supervision. A student gang has formed, led by a tall, slender, brown-haired tough-guy & a tall, blonde tough-guy.

Sergei must endure mistreatment as the gang puts him through a strange, intermittent, and seemingly random Living Hell - sometimes, they ignore him, & at other times, they abuse him. What at times begins as shadow-boxing ends with the gang beating the crap out of him, & there about 35 youths in the gang. On 1 night in particular, Sergei suffers a vicious, concerted attack which seems to come out of nowhere, with no provocation!

There is 1 teacher/authority figure, a bald, stout man who appears to facilitate all the rule-breaking, skulduggery, and risky behavior, which occurs nightly.

Here's just a quick thumbnail of the nightly routine: The "teacher" drives the youths out to a nearby, overnight truck-stop, & 1 of the male students bangs the doors of the trucks, looking for willing johns - then the prettier of the female students climb into the truck-cabs to prostitute themselves.

Does Sergei want to gradually work his way into acceptance into the gang? Does he harbor a grudge & thoughts of revenge against the gang-leaders? I'm not providing spoilers, so you'll have to watch "The Tribe" yourself to find out. The ending unfolds like a somber dirge - you'll have to watch it for yourself!

2 cautionary notes are in order for American viewers: 1) If nudity upsets you, skip "The Tribe" & watch a screwball comedy instead; 2) "The Tribe" contains 2 explicit sex scenes, so if frank depiction of sex makes you wring your hands, watch a different movie!

Well-acted, ably directed, & a very good movie (not a cheer-me-upper).

8 out of 10 stars.

I think anybody who appreciates cinema will be applauding the director of this movie for giving us something truly unique. For a two hour film to keep someone gripped, without any spoken dialogue or subtitles to guide us, shows the power of the good old fashioned visual storytelling. The movie tells the brutal story of a boy trying to fit in, in a boarding school for the deaf. Graphic sex scenes, brutal violence, and an overwhelming sense of dread, combine to make this a very uncomfortable viewing experience. Unfortunately i felt some scenes were dragged out unnecessarily, which prevented it from being the masterpiece thats said to be. I think cutting it shorter than 2 hours would have greatly benefited it, because there were a few occasions where the specific scene made its point, but hung around longer than its welcome. Not a masterpiece, but certainly an intriguing and unique look into the future of film making!

Sergei arrives at an Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf. He's a shy new kid who gets picked on. He is recruited into the ruling gang. They pimp out two of the older girls. Sergei is tasked with being the suitcase pimp and falls for Anya. King rules the organization and decides to sell the girls. Sergei revolts causing chaos and bloodshed.

There is sound but rarely any dialog. The sign language does not get translated into subtitles. One must guess at the plot but it's not impossible. The challenge of interpreting the story has some appeal. The question becomes what this is trying to achieve and what it actually achieves. It doesn't really put the audience into the shoes of the deaf. They actually know what's being said in the movie although it could give a sense of the deaf trying to understand the hearing world. There are some brutal graphic scenes. This is a shocking movie but I must admit that I fastforwarded some of the movie. It's too hard to watch such a quiet movie. One can't compare this to silent movies since those always have music. This is an interesting original experimental movie but I'm not sure what it achieves.