Title: The Tribe
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
Starring: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Alexander Dsiadevich
Runtime: 2 hr 10 mins

What It Is: When young Sergey is enters a boarding school that specializes in the deaf he has no idea what he’s getting into. When he’s introduced to The Tribe, a school gang committing acts of vandalism and prostitution Sergey realizes quickly that this is his way in. When he falls for one of the prostitutes that when everything seems to fall apart. After breaking all the rules to assure her safety, and that to secure that she may not have to continue to turn tricks Sergey does things he’ll regret.

What We Think: I’ve never had a reaction like this to a film, of course there’s never been a film like this. Without a word, I myself was left speechless with what I’d seen. This is a purely cinematic experience, one that leaves the senses confused. It’s an inaudible change that really doesn’t have any equal. Where even classic silent cinema had a supporting score this has nothing. Yet it builds tension with nothing but the characters. Not knowing sign language myself I found it hard to keep up sometimes. This is not a movie you can look away from. This is mainly due to the fact that you won’t understand some thing if you look away. You might miss a moment, and there’s no accompanying dialogue to help you out there.

Our Grade: B+, Due to the fact that I was paying close attention and still sometimes could barely piece this thing together I can’t give it an A, but it’s artistic merits warrant a decent grade. I’d recommend the film, but I know it isn’t for everyone. It’s so art-housy it will definitely scare off the normal cinema viewer. But for those that like a unique experience in the sense this one more then pays off.