By a wide margin, The Tribe is the least known movie on this list - but that doesn't make it any less of a contender. That's to say, this "silent movie" - made and set in Ukraine - takes place within the confines of a school for the deaf, where the entire staff and student body communicate using only sign language. The genius of the movie? There are no subtitles. Audiences work out what's happening on their own, using what little of the language they already know - or what they can deduce from what happens on screen to protagonist Grigoriy Fesenko - to pick up the narrative beats. Oh, and in case that wasn't enough of a grab for you, The Tribe also happens to be a dark, sexually-charged, violent crime story. Knowing that, then, it's easy to understand how such a movie practically begs to be poured over time and time again. One viewing of The Tribe will give you the gist, whilst a second - or third, of fourth - will bring you closer to understanding the world of the characters in the way the director presumably intended. With every viewing, you learn a little more about the school, its rules, and its hierarchy You simply can't take it all in over the course of a single watch; it's far too dense a picture for that.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
