Review of The Tribe (2016) by Chris O — 04 Apr 2016

"The Tribe" is a gritty and truly unsettling story told with zero dialogue, which manages to relay a powerful and interesting story that will leave you shocked.

"The Tribe" follows the story of a young boy who is sent off to a specialized boarding school, specifically for the deaf. He suddenly finds himself climbing through the school's hierarchy, which just so happens to be a gang involved in prostitution and drugs. He soon finds himself getting closer to one of the girl's who works a truck stop, which in return, leads to an endless chain of consequences that will ruin lives forever.

I was able to pick up "The Tribe" from Amazon for about $17, and what really peaked my interest in this film was the unique premise and the story at hand. This film takes place entirely through sign language, having no dialogue and no music, relying heavily on everyday sounds and gestures. This is probably one of the hardest kinds of films to make considering you have to tell an entire story without a single word spoken. This is actually one of the more disturbing films I've seen in a while and I was shocked at the content within this film. This will be an extremely hard film to review, as it's not neccesarily some overly symbolic flick such as "Enemy" or "Only God Forgives", but it's also not a straightforward drama. So without further ado, here we go.

To start out, I was really impressed at the fact, like I said, that there is no dialogue in this film. This takes place solely at a deaf school, where everyone uses sign language. Now, for those of you thinking, "I can just add subtitles" or "There will be music to accompany the film", there's none of that. The movie doesn't include subtitles, nor does it give any real hints at to what the characters are saying. It's completely up to you to decipher the situation at hand and to figure out the possibilities of what the characters are saying. It can be difficult to follow without a doubt, but it definitely makes for some thought provoking and questioning moments that will cause you to look deeper into the film. Like I said, this film is hard to follow, and is not for the casual viewer. If you sit down and watch this movie, you have to be ready to give it your undivided attention in order to fully grasp the concept of the scenario.

This movie is not for the faint of heart, as there are plenty of grueling scenes that will make your jaw drop. The premise alone is dark, and the sexual content and violence will make you squirm even more. It's past the point of comfortable viewing, and will truly make you gasp out loud. There is full on nudity for prolonged scenes and over the top violence (not constantly violent throughout) that can be truly unsettling and awkward for the viewer. Thankfully, I was watching this movie alone, so I was able to react out loud at the severity of the situations. This film is very dark and has zero filter, so keep that in mind when deciding whether or not you want to watch this film.

There was actually plenty of emotion and hair raising scenes in this movie. All of the characters must show their emotion through hand gestures and movements, which really made a different kind of impact on you. It's one thing to hear and see a breakdown, but it's another to see a silent breakdown of emotions. The talent here was able to carry the load offensively, which further established this movie as dark and gritty.

Another interesting fact is that this movie was comprised of only 34 shots. 34 shots filled up a 2 hour and 10 minute run time, which is unbelievable in its own right. Obviously, many directors are starting to adapt this style in Hollywood, but the fact that this film was low budget made this even more notable. The premise is so simple, but it is executed in a way that will truly bring you a different experience.

In all honesty, this really is a love story. There's no other way to say it, but it's a simple love story. However, it's told in a way that is so different and mind boggling that it really leaves you thinking.

There were multiple moments in this film where I nearly jumped out of my chair in shock, but the finale really got to me. It was an insane way of showing just how far this character has gone, and the limits to which he was pushed. It's so eventful in such a simple way that I couldn't believe what I was watching. Especially considering the fact that it was one entire shot, I was left questioning how they even pulled that off.

In the end, "The Tribe" is a gruesome, gritty, thought provoking film that is told in a unique way. The movie can be hard to follow at times and is definitely not for everyone, but I am definitely excited to watch this film again in the near future.