The Wolfpack
A coming of age story like no other, The Wolfpack (directed by Crystal Moselle) is a new
documentary about the sheltered life of the Angulo family from the lower east
side of Manhattan. A group of remarkably sharp and talented “tribe” of six
young boys (and one seen but never heard daughter), they were raised and home
schooled in the family’s small and stingy apartment, their controlling father
restricting any possible contact with the ‘real’ world.
In a broad sense, The
Wolfpack is a film about making films. The Angulo brothers watch films all
day every day, and recreate their favourites using impressive homemade props
and costumes (Batman’s suit from The Dark
Knight made from a yoga mat and cereal boxes was a stroke of genius). In
their own words, they do this because it makes them feel like they’re truly
living, that they’re not just prisoners with little hope of freedom. This is not, however, a tale of blame and
remorse; it’s about the sibling’s realisation of their identities, their
passion for watching and making movies, and belief in their lives outside of
their father’s control.
At times it is uncomfortable to watch because it’s so easy
to forget this isn’t a fictional drama story. They admit the film crew are the
first people to ever be invited into their home. Domineering father Oscar
believes he is enlightened, and refuses to work “out there” as his way of
rebelling. The eldest brother was sent to a psychiatric hospital when he was 15
because he dared to go out alone in public wearing a Michael Myers mask. But
the mother, Susanne, is perhaps the toughest of them all. To talk frankly,
albeit awkwardly, about her untouched dreams and her marriage to a man that
imposes such intense rules takes an admirable amount of courage, and although
you have to question her loyalty to Oscar, the overwhelming respect her
children have for her is really quite moving given their oppressive
circumstances.
Incorporating personal footage into the film anchors its
intimacy, and because the family contribute so freely and honestly it doesn’t
feel like an intrusion of their privacy. Like all good documentaries the story
is compelling, but it’s the little details that really capture you: at the
start of the film, the boys’ hair is so long that they can tuck it into the
back of their trousers, their outstanding recreation of Pulp Fiction, the film crew joining them on their first trip to the
cinema to see The Fighter and the
closing scene of them blissfully playing among some apple trees.