Intense ‘The Tribe’ follows deaf teen’s journey

There is dialogue in the Ukranian film “The Tribe.” But we don’t hear one word of it. Instead, we see it through sign language. And it’s louder than any screaming could be.

The film centers on deaf teens in a Ukranian boarding school for the hearing-impaired. There are no voice-overs or subtitles. We don’t need them. Though we don’t know the precise words the characters are signing, we understand exactly what’s going on.

And it’s not pretty. In fact, it’s downright bleak, as we’re introduced to Sergey (Grigoriy Fesenko), who arrives at the boarding school fresh-faced and shy. But he soon realizes he must toughen up when he’s harshly initiated into the school’s all-ruling gang of misfits, who spend their days out of the classroom indulging in petty thievery and prostitution of their female classmates.

We follow Sergey’s harrowing experience trying to fit in – and survive – this prison-like hell.

Watching the film is an intense, certainly unique cinematic experience. And be warned: It is not for the faint-hearted. It contains brutal violence, near-explicit sex, a harrowing abortion scene and full-frontal nudity. But none of it is for titillation. It’s just a part of this harsh world.

The film has won numerous international awards and has been a film festival darling since its celebrated debut at Cannes last year. It will be shown at 3 p.m. Sunday as the next installment in the Tallgrass Film Association’s Indie at the Orpheum film series.

Tallgrass director of programming and operations Nick Pope calls the film “kind of a coming-of-age story.”

He notes that first-time feature director Miroslav Slaboshpitsky wanted to make a modern homage to silent films.

“It’s a pretty straightforward kind of story,” Pope said. “It’s pretty easy to understand the actions that are happening. But the actual dialogue that is taking place is open to interpretation.”

He also says that even if someone knows sign language, this is Ukranian sign language, which makes it even more, well, foreign.

“You just have to have an open mind to think about what they’re talking about, what’s exactly happening,” Pope said.

The film utilizes long takes, which calls to mind the feel of, say, Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant.” There are a lot of wide shots and long, flowing takes down corridors. It puts the viewer even further into the action, Pope says, almost like we’re intruding.

“The camera just fixates on people,” he said. “Kind of like a play, in a sense that you look at what you want to look at in each shot. It’s interesting because without the dialogue and by bringing the camera closer to the action, I think the director is going out of his way to not invite you into this world.”

But we can’t stop watching, even through some horrible moments. And that’s a testament to the acting, all by mostly non-professional actors who are really deaf.

Pope points out that the film isn’t about the characters overcoming an impairment.

“These are just kids in a school who happen to be deaf. Their disability is not the focal point of the movie.”

That would be their experiences. And while it’s dark stuff, the bleakness almost becomes hypnotic. It’s powerful, and the film’s ending packs a wallop that will leave you breathless.

Overall, the film most certainly – vehemently – has a sense of place.

“It sits in its own little world,” Pope said. “Detached from everything.”

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Intense ‘The Tribe’ follows deaf teen’s journey."