Transcending Language, 'The Tribe' Is a Brutal Work of Art

Screenshot from 'The Tribe' trailer.
Screenshot from 'The Tribe' trailer.

Sometimes art is ugly. It carries with it as much capacity for violence and dread as it does transcendent beauty. This is true for film as much as it is with any other medium — it’s why we can have movies like Paris, Texas and Children of Men, and respect them in equal measure.

Difficult subject matter, particularly of the violent or sexual variety as in The Tribe, doesn’t make a film less credible. It’s what the director does with that subject matter that tells us how to react.

Sometimes art is ugly. It carries with it as much capacity for violence and dread as it does transcendent beauty. This is true for film as much as it is with any other medium — it’s why we can have movies like Paris, Texas and Children of Men, and respect them in equal measure.

Difficult subject matter, particularly of the violent or sexual variety as in The Tribe, doesn’t make a film less credible. It’s what the director does with that subject matter that tells us how to react.

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