The Wolfpack

The Wolfpack

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Crystal Moselle[1]
Produced by
  • Hunter Gray
  • Izabella Tzenkova
  • Crystal Moselle
  • Alex Orlovsky[1]
Music by
  • Danny Bensi
  • Saunder Jurriaans
  • Aska Matsumiya[1]
Edited by Enat Sidi[1]
Production
companies
  • Kotva Films
  • Verisimilitude
Distributed by Magnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 25, 2015 (2015-01-25) (Sundance)
  • June 12, 2015 (2015-06-12)
Running time
 90 minutes[2][1]
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1.2 million[3]

The Wolfpack is a 2015 American documentary film about a family who homeschooled and raised their seven children in the confinement of their apartment in the Lower East Side of New York City. The film, directed by Crystal Moselle, premiered on January 25, 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize.[4][5][6][7][8] The film went on to be the Closing Night film of Maryland Film Festival 2015.

Synopsis

Locked away in an apartment in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for fourteen years, the Angulo family's seven children—six brothers named Mukunda, Narayana, Govinda, Bhagavan, Krisna (Glenn), and Jagadesh (Eddie), and their sister Visnu—learned about the world through watching films. They also re-enact scenes from their favorite movies. They were homeschooled by their mother and confined to their sixteenth story four-bedroom apartment in the Seward Park Extension housing project.[9] Their father, Oscar, had the only door key and prohibited the kids and their mother Susanne from leaving the apartment except for a few strictly-monitored trips on the "nefarious" streets.[10][9]

Everything changed for them when 15-year-old Mukunda decided to walk around the neighborhood in January 2010, against their father's instruction to remain inside. All the brothers then decided to begin exploring Manhattan and the world outside.[10]

Production

In 2010, Crystal Moselle, then a graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts, chanced upon a group of six peculiar-looking siblings while walking down First Avenue in Manhattan.[4][5] The siblings, who were then between 11 and 18 years old, wore black Ray-Ban sunglasses reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs and had waist-long hair.[4] Crystal became friends with them and later found out that the siblings had been confined to their Manhattan apartment for 14 years; that they had learned about the world by watching movies; and that most, if not all, social situations were new to them.[4] They bonded quickly with Crystal because of their shared love of films.[10]

The Tribeca Film Institute provided financial support and assistance to the film director.[4] Magnolia Pictures bought worldwide rights to the documentary.[11]

Reception

Crystal Moselle, The Wolfpack's director, at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival

As of 1 March 2016, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 85% of 125 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10. The site's summary states: "Offering a unique look at modern fears and our fascination with film, The Wolfpack is a fascinating—and ultimately haunting—urban fable."[12] As of 30 June 2015, on Metacritic the film has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13]

Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave the film a five-star review and compared it to Grey Gardens by saying that "Not since Grey Gardens has a film invited us into such a strange, barely-functioning home and allowed us to gawk without reservation."[14] Scott Foundas of Variety also gave the film a positive review saying that "There is much to enjoy in director Crystal Moselle's debut documentary feature, which if nothing else begs a where-are-they-now sequel a few years down the road."[15] Jordan Raup of The Film Stage in his review said that "The Wolfpack is an endlessly fascinating documentary, but it’s not quite a great one."[16] Eric Kohn in his review for Indiewire graded the film B+ and said that "Crystal Moselle's portrait of teens trapped in an apartment for most of their lives is filled with compelling mysteries."[17]

However, John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film that "This debut doc doesn't quite make the most of fascinating and likeable subjects."[18] Kate Erbland of The Playlist said that "'The Wolfpack' is a film about access, and though we are admitted into the world of the eponymous Wolfpack, not understanding how we got there robs the film of compelling commentary."[19] Paul Byrne, while conceding that Wolfpack is 'a confronting and confounding true story', writes; "Some of the boys were barely teenagers when Moselle started to film, too young to give consent. The sister is mentally handicapped, so incapable of consent. The father might be mentally ill – another problem of consent...The question then becomes how much [Moselle's] presence changes what we see.".[20] Steve Thomas of The Conversation points to "ethical questions surrounding The Wolfpack", saying; "truth is that whilst filmmakers can cite signed release forms to justify their actions, these are just pieces of paper. Consent in longitudinal documentary projects (which follow people over a long period of time) is an ongoing process.".[21]

The story was covered in the June 19, 2015 episode of ABC 20/20.[10]

Accolades

List of Accolades
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
31st Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize
(U.S. Documentary)		 Crystal Moselle Won[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Wolfpack". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "THE WOLFPACK (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Wolfpack (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnes, Brooks (23 January 2015). "‘The Wolfpack’ Tells of One New York Apartment With Seven Children Locked Inside". New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 Zeitchik, Steven (24 January 2015). "'Wolfpack' follows 7 kids locked in an apartment, raised on films". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Adam (23 January 2015). "Sundance 2015: Intriguing Documentary THE WOLFPACK Gets a Poster". Film Pulse. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Bernstein, Paula (22 January 2015). "How I Shot That: First-Time Director and DP Crystal Moselle on the Vérité Style of 'The Wolfpack'". Indiewire. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Yuan, Jada (1 February 2015). "Me & Earl & the Dying Girl Dazzles at Sundance". Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 Daniel Maurer (2015-04-17). "The Wolfpack Documents a Band of Brothers Cloistered On the LES". Bedford + Bowery (New York Media, LLC). Retrieved 2015-08-21.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Gail Deutsch; Alexa Valiente (20 June 2015). "The Moment When 'Wolfpack' Brother Decided to Escape". 20/20. ABC News. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Siegal, Tatiana (29 January 2015). "Sundance: 'The Wolfpack' Sells to Magnolia (Exclusive)". Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Wolfpack". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "The Wolfpack". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Hoffman, Jordan (25 January 2015). "Sundance 2015 review: The Wolfpack – five stars for study of six siblings who spent 17 years in one Manhattan flat". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Foundas, Scott (26 January 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Wolfpack'". Variety. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Raup, Jordan (30 January 2015). "The Wolfpack Sundance Film Festival 2015 Review". The Film Stage. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  17. ↑ Kohn, Eric (26 January 2015). "Sundance Review: Sheltered Kids Find the World Through Movies in Fascinating Doc 'The Wolfpack'". Indiewire. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  18. ↑ DeFore, John (25 January 2015). "'The Wolfpack': Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  19. ↑ Erbland, Kate (25 January 2015). "Sundance Review: Potentially Compelling Documentary 'The Wolfpack' Plagued By Unanswered Questions". Indiewire. The Playlist (blog). Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Paul Byrne, 'The Wolfpack review: a confronting and confounding true story', The Sydney Morning Herald, August 28, 2015 : http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-wolfpack-review-a-confronting-and-confounding-true-story-20150826-gj7tys.html#ixzz3lemifBH8
  21. ↑ Steve Thomas 'Wolfpack and the ethics of documentary filmmaking' The Conversation September 14, 2015. http://theconversation.com/wolfpack-and-the-ethics-of-documentary-filmmaking-47086?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+September+14+2015+-+3387&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+September+14+2015+-+3387+CID_9daaf3d640d82746093c5ca1a94385cb&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Wolfpack%20and%20the%20ethics%20of%20documentary%20filmmaking
  22. ↑ "Here Are Your 2015 Sundance Film Festival Winners". Retrieved 2 February 2015.

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Rich Hill		 Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary
2015 		Succeeded by
TBD
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