The Tribe
No verbal dialogue, no subtitles. A film, now showing at ACMI, shot entirely in sign language, is not only for people who are deaf. It’s about time for a film communicated entirely in sign language – but who expected it would be the sign language of Ukraine, spoken only by a few thousand people.
A new student arrives at a Ukranian boarding school for the deaf. He is immediately inducted into a shady underworld of violence, prostitution and robbery.
The Tribe is brutal, uncompromising and sometimes uncomfortable, but its near-silence, along with strong performances from a cast of unknowns, makes this hypnotic viewing.
The Tribe is playing at ACMI from May 2–10.
acmi.net.au/film/seasons-and-screenings/the-tribe/
Warning: film trailer features nudity.
