The premise is simple but intriguing: six siblings are locked away from society at large in Manhattan’s Lower East Side for most of their lives by their paranoid father. With next to no outside stimulus, they reach into their imagination and recreate scenes from some of their favorite movies, including “Clerks,” “The Usual Suspects,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “El Mariachi.” That’s the gist of Magnolia Pictures doc “The Wolfpack,” which won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year. Directed by Crystal Mosell, it’s a fascinating doc, though one valid criticism is that the full story of their upbringing is not as explained as it should be. Here’s the official synopsis:
Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed the Wolfpack, the brothers spend their childhood re-enacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. With no friends and living on welfare, they feed their curiosity, creativity, and imagination with film, which allows them to escape from their feelings of isolation and loneliness. Everything changes when one of the brothers escapes, and the power dynamics in the house are transformed. The Wolfpack must learn how to integrate into society without disbanding the brotherhood.
READ MORE: Sundance Review: Sundance Documentary Grand Prize Winner ‘The Wolfpack’
Magnolia Pictures will release “The Wolfpack” in theaters on June 12th in limited release. Watch the first trailer below.
