THE TRIBE (2014) — Sleeper Awakened

8/25/2015 - The Tribe (2014) - 7+/10

Disturbing but grippingly enchanting. Of course it is unheard (being about the deaf and w/out subtitles), but the story is how this Deaf society is unseen, functioning beyond "normal" society. You slowly melt into the aura surrounding these teens and their entrenched lifestyle of hardship and oustidersism. Starkly filmed with few cuts, it feels so naturalistic and unflinchingly raw. You become a fixture of their life, seeing such intimate details of these sordid teenage wildlings. And yet, you remain the inalienable observer, unable to climb over that wall of society and the senses that keeps us apart.

The biggest negative of this unique film is that the story elements can be obscured, as you struggle to experience a movie truly from the outside. The novelty of not grasping the intricacies of conversation and relationship somewhat wears thin, as the wall adamantly stands between me and understanding.

Never the less, this Lord of the Flies meets Gomorrah, with a tinge of Russian Ark is haunting in giving you a brief glimpse into the world of these shadows without whispers. Some scenes forced me to grapple with the heaviest of cinema. I found this as one of the most affecting films since Irreversible or 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.

The intense "the Other", moving you in repulsion and in fascination. It will not leave your thoughts easily, which is a welcome element of so often disposable cinema.