There are so many treasures you will never find in a city as packed New York. I’m not talking about the things you see on TV, they’re always crowded with tourists. Oh, while we’re on the the subject of tourists, have some manners. Learn the words “thank you” and “excuse me” or else you’re getting bum rushed. However, if you see performers or people asking for money on the train, don’t give in. We have plenty of government programs to help and feed homeless people. Or better yet, if they’re asking for food money, try to buy them actual food and see how they react.
For many New Yorkers, those few minutes we have in a subway car is the only peace we may have for the whole day. Performers are supposed to perform on the platform or street. Give the stink-eye to any one breaking the peace of a crowded subway car. It’s possible you may not have had the right people in your life to teach you stuff like this though. You could have been locked up for most of your life in an apartment building. That’s certainly the story for this group of Tarantino fans called The Wolfpack.
This biographical documentary is directed by Crystal Moselle. It stars the Angulo family, Bhagavan, Govinda, Jagadisa, Krsna, Mukunda and Narayana. They’re a bunch of home-schooled cinephiles who cosplay their favorite movies. Since they grew up as shut-ins, they know the world through movies. The parents are completely different entities with their own baggage. Mom is the home-school teacher with regrets; she hasn’t spoken to her own mom in over two decades. Their dad fancies himself as having the power to influence people. A little odd but nothing new in New York if we’re honest here. Regardless, it’s an interesting film and the Angulo children, teenagers in actuality, are quite charming and interesting.
They do really good cosplay. It’s not professional level design but you know what they’re trying to be. In two words, they’re sweetly innocent. That’s always the assumption with sheltered people, but what I mean is that they are delightfully geeky. Dressing up as Batman or making fake guns for a Reservoir Dogs scene looks so fun. They are enjoying life as much as they can with what they have despite their parents’ influence. You see their creativity and how clever they are. One example of this is the fact that they made one of their costumes from cereal boxes and yoga mats. It really looks like Batman armor, though a little shabby, but still like the Dark Knight.
Something kept bothering me when I was watching the trailer. Why did that song “MMMbop” keep popping up into my head? Right, because you see old home movies of them playing instruments together with their pretty hair swaying in the wind. Seriously though, you build a respect for these kids because they actually have drive. As a result of the internet age, you see a lot of kids with their faces stuck on their smart phones blissfully unaware of the world. Unaware until that green taxi plows through them. The Angulos though, they’re just paranoid, and that’s a good thing sometimes. They try to be aware. And through their creativity, they create rather than consume products as their awesome crafting skills attest to in this trailer.
When you consider the situation, you start to feel sympathetic because they were essentially locked up, even for a whole year at one point. I think it’s a terrible thing to feel pity for obviously strong people. You should never feel pity for these kids, you fistbump (or handshake) them for dealing with what they had as best they could. One of the older brothers in the trailer mentioned their father’s system was a “ticking bomb”. They had the foresight to see that upon coming of age that things would have to change for them. Their parents should be proud of how intelligent their kids are here.
The Wolfpack comes out June 12th 2015 in the U.S. and will be screened in the Edinburgh International Film Festival June 26th 2015. For other film festival dates, click here.
Did you notice the typewriter? Haven’t seen one in ages. Tell us your thoughts!
(top image source: Magnolia Pictures)
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