Tribu: Watching a relic of a different era

Is this for you?

If you have a high tolerance for slow, earnest storytelling from the early days of sound, then Tribu might be your cup of tea. It is definitely not for anyone who needs constant action or modern editing to stay awake.

The pacing is… well, it takes its sweet time. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys watching Alma provinciana, you’ll find the same kind of dusty, honest charm here.

The feel of the thing

There is a scene about halfway through where the silence just hangs there. It’s almost too quiet. You can see the actors trying to find their footing in the frame, and it makes the whole thing feel strangely grounded in a way a polished movie never could.

The cast is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Medea de Novara has this look in her eyes like she knows exactly how doomed the situation is. It’s not subtle acting, but it hits the mark.

Odd bits and pieces

• The background extras in the village scenes look like they were just pulled off the street five minutes before the camera started rolling.
• The audio is crunchy. Like, really crunchy. If you turn it up too high, you might start hearing the history of the film strip itself.
• There is a specific interaction between Carlos Villatoro and the environment that feels so rehearsed it actually becomes kind of funny.

It’s not a perfect film. Sometimes it feels like it’s trying to be Martyrs of the Alamo with the way it handles its historical weight, but it doesn't have the same scale. It just has grit.

I found myself wondering if they even had a script for the second half or if they just decided to let the desert heat do the talking. The dialogue gets thin, real thin. But honestly? It didn't bother me that much. The pictures tell enough of the story.

It’s a bit of a slog, let’s be honest. But there’s a moment near the end—just a single frame of a landscape—that made me stop checking my phone and actually look. It’s a movie that rewards you for just sitting there and letting it be messy. 🌵