The Wolfpack

1 September 2015 | 9:51 am | Kane Sutton

"The remarkable facet of the film is that the kids seem relatively unscathed by their isolation."

Director Crystal Moselle has managed to capture an extraordinary story in the form of The Wolfpack, a documentary based on the lives of six brothers who have grown up in an apartment complex on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, living within their father's paranoid regime whereby they're prohibited from leaving their apartment save for once or twice a year, where they're allowed outside the confines of their home under the strict guidance of their dominating parent.

The remarkable facet of the film is that the kids seem relatively unscathed by their isolation. Their love of film and re-enacting famous scenes, most notably Tarantino-directed performances, have gone a huge way in allowing the boys to become quite thoughtful people, and the personal monologues you hear from them about their experiences and thoughts about what the future holds are fascinating.

As the film goes on and the boys age, they begin to grasp the concept of becoming adults and, as such, become more confident in their ability to make their own decisions. Mukunda, one of the more outspoken of the brothers, eventually defies his father's rules by leaving the apartment, and that becomes the catalyst for him and the others to begin spending more time outside. You find yourself cheering them on when they discover the unlimited possibilities now open to them, and while it does leave you with some questions you would want answered, The Wolfpack is a truly genuine and redeeming experience.