Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
MPAA Rating: NR
Run Time: 132 min.
Never before have I seen a film that spoke so much without uttering a single word of dialogue than in Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s The Tribe.
The film contains no dialogue or subtitles; all communication is through sign language, which works way better than I could have ever expected and is something I’ve never experienced before in a film. Simply put, this is one of the best films of the year and is an absolute must-see.
The Tribe takes place at a school for the deaf, where a new attendee is struggling to become acclimated to his new life. He quickly discovers it’s the students who run the show here, and the entire facility is overwrought with corruption, ranging from petty theft, to prostitution.
The atmosphere reminds me of Toshiaki Toyoda’s Blue Spring, where the dilapidated school halls are nearly absent from teachers, and the students form what amount to criminal enterprises. There’s sex and violence and little oversight from officials, who themselves are just as corrupt as the children. It’s a harsh place – one that seems ill fitting of a school for the deaf – but we learn early on that this film constantly defies any expectations one may have about these kids.
Indeed, the lack of dialogue or subtitles is jarring at first, but the conversations from the actors are so expressive in their signing that I quickly found myself acclimating to this style and never once felt like I didn’t know what was being said. This is a testament to the expertly crafted storytelling and performances, where the viewer needs not to hear one single utterance to know exactly how these characters are feeling, what emotions are being expressed and where the plot is heading. It’s an incredible thing and is reason enough to seek this film out.
The strong emotional charge of the story is what aids in propelling the style, evoking strong feelings of love and hate among the characters. These emotions are both easy to identify yet infinitely complex, allowing the viewer to see the depth of each person without knowing exactly what he is saying. It’s brilliant.
Visually, The Tribe hits all the right notes for the type of cinematography I love. Comprised of long, single-take shots, cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych ratchets the tension and emotional heft of the film by meticulously framing each and every scene to near perfection. The only minor quibble I had with this film was that the camera lingered a bit too long during certain frequent static shots, making things feel a bit drawn out on a few occurrences.
The Tribe is a stark, disturbing and, at times, even a hard-to-watch film, and I mean that in a good way. It’s raw and honest, beautiful in its own way and a wholly unique experience that you will most likely never forget.
