Sometimes it’s nice to get away from all the Hollywood movies and just watch something different.  The Wolfpack is a documentary that will give you A LOT to discuss after watching it because of the bizarre subject matter.

The Wolfpack is a documentary about the Angulo brothers who are all siblings that have been raised in a small, somewhat rundown apartment in Manhattan rarely being allowed to leave.  Their entire lives have been inside a small apartment sometimes leaving the house a few times a year, sometimes not at all.  In total, the family is made up of nine members; seven being children (six of them being the brothers featured in this film).  The boys (for the most part are all teenagers and young adults in the film) seem rather well adjusted and socialized for being children raised behind closed doors.  In order to stay ‘sane’ in that environment, the brothers watched movies and reenacted them in order to stay socially normal and make the best out of their situation.

This is the kind of documentary that stirs so many questions after watching it, which is fantastic.  The documentary doesn’t really have a beginning, middle, or an end; rather, it spews crazy information at you which causes you to think critically and question what you have just been shown.  These boys were never really allowed to leave their small apartment, so what first came to my mind was, how is this not child abuse?  Since the boys’ basic needs were being met and they were being homeschooled, I supposed the state didn’t step in, but you really have to wonder how that isn’t considered abuse.  Secondly, there is also the discussion of whether or not relationships can truly work when there are cultural barriers.  The mother in the film is American, and the father in Peruvian, peaks little English, and refuses to work.  She is rarely allowed to leave the house like her children.  You wonder the whole time while watching it just how this relationship is working.  My boyfriend and I left the theatre full of so many topics to discuss from the documentary.  It’s one thing to leave a film feeling happy because you enjoyed the film, but it’s almost even better to leave a film that has stirs up discussion and debates.  This is definitely a movie that would be interesting to show to a university psychology or sociology class.

This is the kind of movie that just needs to be seen.  Go see it for yourself and reflect on just exactly what you saw and discuss it over dinner.  Definitely a very interesting documentary that should be seen by more people not only because of the subject matter, but for the critical thinking that ensues afterwards.

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