Set within an insular deaf
community in the city of Kiev, Ukrainian writer/director Miroslav
Slaboshpitsky’s debut feature, which has been highly praised and awarded
everywhere, is told entirely through unsubtitled sign language with actual
actors with hearing-impairments. After arriving at a downtrodden boarding
school, Sergey (Grigoriy Fesenko) ends up falling in with a violent bullying
gang of misfits whose only goals in life are to fight, steal and pimp young
girls to local truckers, whilst being under the watchful eye of an imposing
woodwork teacher. As he starts to work his way up through the ranks, Sergey
starts to develop an emotional attachment with one of the pimped girls (Yana
Novikova). However, their illicit relationship starts to compromise the
tightly-run operation of the “tribe”.
This “homage
to silent cinema” has strong sense of empowering authenticity to it as a result
of Slaboshpitsky’s stark unsentimental portrayal of each of the protagonists;
whenever love gets involved, destruction follows and all this culminates to a
grim climax where we witness explicit sequences of bloody violence and
brutality, like as if we are watching a theatre show of cruelty and hurt. The
world in which these characters interact in is voyeuristically grim, and it
certainly has an air of Gomorrah about it, yet its portrayal can provoke the
most powerful emotional reactions than language ever could.
It’s almost
as if the film is forcing the audience to look away during the most toughest of
scenes, which is all the more peculiar given the film’s glowing achievements
and quintessential praise it has received, despite being one of the most
disturbing films of the year. There’s also a touch of Gaspar Noé’s
exploitation-esque flair, particularly during the more challenging and
revealing scenes, such as the raw sex scenes, an extremely tough scene
involving protracted back-street abortion and the explosions of bloody violence
and brutality.
The use of
actual deaf non-professional actors adds to the film’s authenticity, with each
one giving superbly raw performances (special plaudits to Yana Novikova) whilst
also appearing natural and convincing. Plus, the film uses audaciously long
extended takes as a means of creating continuous visual, and at times
claustrophobic and damp, environments, all thanks to cinematographer/editor
Valentyn Vasyanovych.
In the end, The Tribe is a shocking, violent, yet
unique film that communicates extremely well without words, or even music for
that matter. Even when verbal language is completely absent, there’s no
disconnecting barrier between you and the performances. The scenes of almost
unwatchable bleakness, violence and squalor will be an insurmountable challenge
for even the toughest of audience members, but even so, The Tribe is a film that’s certainly not to be underestimated.
THE TRIBE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR
& SCREENPLAY: MIROSLAV SLABOSHPITSKY / GRIGORIY FESENKO, YANA NOVIKOVA,
ROSA BABIY, ALEXANDER DSIADEVICH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Set within an insular deaf
community in the city of Kiev, Ukrainian writer/director Miroslav
Slaboshpitsky’s debut feature, which has been highly praised and awarded
everywhere, is told entirely through unsubtitled sign language with actual
actors with hearing-impairments. After arriving at a downtrodden boarding
school, Sergey (Grigoriy Fesenko) ends up falling in with a violent bullying
gang of misfits whose only goals in life are to fight, steal and pimp young
girls to local truckers, whilst being under the watchful eye of an imposing
woodwork teacher. As he starts to work his way up through the ranks, Sergey
starts to develop an emotional attachment with one of the pimped girls (Yana
Novikova). However, their illicit relationship starts to compromise the
tightly-run operation of the “tribe”.
This “homage
to silent cinema” has strong sense of empowering authenticity to it as a result
of Slaboshpitsky’s stark unsentimental portrayal of each of the protagonists;
whenever love gets involved, destruction follows and all this culminates to a
grim climax where we witness explicit sequences of bloody violence and
brutality, like as if we are watching a theatre show of cruelty and hurt. The
world in which these characters interact in is voyeuristically grim, and it
certainly has an air of Gomorrah about it, yet its portrayal can provoke the
most powerful emotional reactions than language ever could.
It’s almost
as if the film is forcing the audience to look away during the most toughest of
scenes, which is all the more peculiar given the film’s glowing achievements
and quintessential praise it has received, despite being one of the most
disturbing films of the year. There’s also a touch of Gaspar Noé’s
exploitation-esque flair, particularly during the more challenging and
revealing scenes, such as the raw sex scenes, an extremely tough scene
involving protracted back-street abortion and the explosions of bloody violence
and brutality.
The use of
actual deaf non-professional actors adds to the film’s authenticity, with each
one giving superbly raw performances (special plaudits to Yana Novikova) whilst
also appearing natural and convincing. Plus, the film uses audaciously long
extended takes as a means of creating continuous visual, and at times
claustrophobic and damp, environments, all thanks to cinematographer/editor
Valentyn Vasyanovych.
In the end, The Tribe is a shocking, violent, yet
unique film that communicates extremely well without words, or even music for
that matter. Even when verbal language is completely absent, there’s no
disconnecting barrier between you and the performances. The scenes of almost
unwatchable bleakness, violence and squalor will be an insurmountable challenge
for even the toughest of audience members, but even so, The Tribe is a film that’s certainly not to be underestimated.
THE TRIBE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR
& SCREENPLAY: MIROSLAV SLABOSHPITSKY / GRIGORIY FESENKO, YANA NOVIKOVA,
ROSA BABIY, ALEXANDER DSIADEVICH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
