The Tribe

Despite what other flaws this movie might have - one obvious one is that deaf people make noise, probably more than people who can hear - it could've at least been watchable. In it's current state it's unwatchable. One very simple reason. No subtitles. Without subtitles this movie is worthless. You can argue about it all day and give some b.s. reason like, for the sake of art, it's not about what they say, etc, etc. But how is this different than watching a foreign language film? So I supposed to guess what's happening? How is that more enjoyable then, say, watching kids play or something through your window from inside your home? So it's OK if deaf people understand it but not people who can hear? What is this movie supposed to achieve? I don't get it. I couldn't finish it.

Let's start with the long takes. Just wow. So long and probably difficult to execute. No take is even under a minute and a half, I bet. Any film with long takes would suggest that there is a master filmmaker working behind the curtain. Watching characters walk up and down four flights of stairs becomes a simultaneously thrilling and beautiful experience. The film is entirely in sign language, which by default makes it stunningly singular. It is without a doubt a well executed experiment, and that alone makes it one of the year's finest works of art. The Tribe might not have words, but it speaks volumes for people walking down entire hallways and people hitting people on the head with blunt objects. Even though there's no dialogue, Slaboshpitsky crafts such multi-dimensional characters that you may not even be able to tell some apart. The film's central theme about people who live in a community that is bad resonated deeply with me. The film features some stunning images of sex and violence, which are all that I remember from the movie. The buildup to these scenes is slow (albeit full of tension), but once we get that delicious violence shot with an unflinching camera, or those realistic sex scenes, it's all worth it. It's a shocking, haunting, and bleak film, but I can handle it. Simply harrowing. Brutal, some might say. I'm running out of adjectives to describe my stunning experience, but you get the point. The more I think about the film, the more I realize how little lays under the surface, but that's precisely the point. This is an experience of long periods of waste, stunning violence, and artsy sex, but it is shot with such elegance that it cannot be mistaken for anything but high art. This is a sumptuous feast for serious audiences such as myself, and I recommend it to all audiences who like long takes and well crafted craft.

My sign language review for this movie is 👎👎👎👎👎👎. I can't hear the people speak but I can hear the doors closing, footsteps and paper shuffling? The Tribe? More like 'The Stupid'. Were these guys suppose to be mute as well? Deaf people do make sounds. I don't think they were even using real sign language throughout this flick. Deaf Gangs, Deaf Pimps & Deaf Prostitute Lot Lizards does not equal a good film. What about the irony of throwing up gang signs using sign language. The awkward Deaf Sex scenes were hilarious and it was the only time anyone made any sound. This movie was weird. I wonder what the director will make next, A DEAF MUSICAL? You can't hear the music but you can see it. When they performed the Deaf Abortion I was Dead. Everyone acting or working in this film obviously wrote the bogus positive reviews. My 1st review saying this movie sucked was reported for abuse and deleted. I DEAFinitely want my $$$ back.

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!

In one way Ukrainian 'Plemya' is very remarkable, if not unique. Being located in an institute for young adult deaf + dumb people, the actors communicate by using hand-language. Director Slabosjpitski obviously decided to make his audience part of this process, and left any subtitles out. So watching this film, you feel a little deaf + dumb yourself -- unless you speak both Ukrainian and hand-language. I never experienced this brilliant effect in any other film before. -------------- Apart from the above, 'Plemya' reminds me of Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' from 1971. A criminal gang with a lot of violence, all registered very plainly & realistic. The more so while 'Plemya' has the characteristic slow pace of an East European movie, taking its time to involve you. 'Plemya' surely is a film that gets under your skin. Its mediocre shooting, the only minor feature, is more than compensated by its excellent acting.

A masterpiece speaking of deaf mute Young people, but that ordinary people like me can easily understand. Before the opening credits, it was told that there would not be any subtitles for non deaf mute audiences. I was scared to death, but I stayed and finally made it. Yes, I warn you, it's a brutal, fierce, bloody film made about orphan teenagers, rebel youth from Ukrainia. Only those Eastern Europa film industries can give us such stories. Not for the squeamish, I warn you again. A brutal tale of destruction but beware, NOTHING is gratuitous here. The realism is put at the highest scale possible. And I insist, this is not a gory film either. Only the true life in an Ukrainan youngsters institution.

I was so looking forward to this! The trailer looked amazing and the hype and general consensus was that The Tribe was incredible. My word. I was so bored! So many components were poorly executed. The acting in general is quite bad, with a few minor exceptions, but I really think the directing makes it seem even worse than it is. The fight scenes are done with, what seems like no effort at all. I couldn't figure out the first fight. Were they trying some moves out for a school play. Some choreography the kids came up with in between classes. That's how it came off to me. The punches certainly don't actually make any contact. The sex scenes are so unrealistic. I mean they're not even close to each other, unless he's very well endowed (which he's not). The plot seems to have many holes in it as well. Where did all the adults go? Are all the truck drivers deaf and mute as well? Too many to list here. I understand it's quite an achievement to make a film with no dialogue whatsoever, and I think it had potential. The cinematography is pretty well done and the general overtone of the film has merit. The Tribe is a film I had high hopes for and was definitely looking forward to, but I just can't see what others are seeing. http://www.filmnotion.com/

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.

Raw, brutal, without dialogue or sub-titles and a sensation at Cannes. Sergey is a newbie at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf and mute. Within hours of arriving at the school he is promptly and severely bullied by other students. He fights back and is rewarded by becoming part of the gang. He commits his fair share of robberies, pimping and vicious shake-downs without remorse or regret. This is until he becomes enamored with Anna, a fellow student by day and part of his pimping responsibilities at night. The substantial troubles and desperations of these young students is treated with shocking indifference, selfishness and disturbing disconnection by everyone involved. The lack of words puts the audience deeper into the emotions of the characters. The film adeptly and brilliantly provides the experience as if one is standing in their shoes. I fled with them in the night, wandered through abandoned carnival rides and truck stops with them, and felt their desperation and hunger to survive in the face of a society that abandons them. Slow moving yet with power and impact that is deeply felt. Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

"The Tribe" is a huge step backwards in the history of film: a silent movie without subtitles or music. Somehow or other this film has been hailed as some sort of masterpiece. It isn't. More like the Emperor's New Clothes. Here are my top ten reasons for avoiding it at all costs: 1. Pointless 2. Depressing 3. Overlong 4. Confusing 5. Slow 6. Badly acted 7. Full of unlikable characters 8. Insulting to deaf people 9. Insulting to non-deaf people 10. Ridiculously violent. There is absolutely reason I can think of to see this film. You will not gain anything. You will not learn anything. You will only be depressed, and like seeing a car accident, you will wish you hadn't looked in the first place. "The Tribe" or "Plemya" is simply more evidence that Cannes juries go for anything that seems documentary-like and seems to capture some sort of reality -- despite a lack of sympathetic characters or a compelling story. And if there are no actual actors involved, no dialogue and no soundtrack, all the better. Congratulations, here's your prize.