Called the Wolf Pack, the six Angulo brothers who were imprisoned in a New York apartment by their father for 14 years are finally speaking out after being the subject of an award-winning documentary.
“He told us, ‘There are good people and there are bad people. I want you all to stay here and be protected,'” Govinda Angulo told ABC.
Their father had the only key to their East Village apartment, which they were rarely allowed to leave. The brothers told ABC that their mother homeschooled them and also locked herself in the apartment. Films played a special role, as they were the brothers’ only glimpse of the outside world.
“The films taught us how to talk to each other,” Mukunda Angulo told ABC.
The brothers say they have seen over 10,000 films, including films such as “The Dark Knight,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Their love of movies led them to recreate the films word for word, with detailed costumes and storylines, but everything adapted to the environment of the apartment. They even performed the films like plays, in one long take.
One of the brothers, Mukunda, finally found the courage to break out of the apartment. His brothers soon followed his example, even prompting their mother to tighten the balance of power even further.
A chance encounter with filmmaker Crystal Moselle changed her life. She was impressed by her looks and the fact that she had never seen her in the neighborhood before. One of the brothers told Rolling Stone: “We didn’t tell her much at first. We just said, ‘We love movies – what do you do?'”
The brothers were the subject of Moselle’s first documentary, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance five years later.
A major theme of the play is how the brothers cared for each other. A critic from the Boston Globe says, “Only from the outside does the film look like a coming-of-age freak show; in reality, it is unexpected proof that even in a prison, flowers can grow.”
Their father has not been charged with any crime because the law does not require children to leave the house. The family still lives together, but the brothers do not speak to him. Mukunda told the New York Times: “I want to look forward, not back.”
At the same time, family members described their relationship with their father as “evolving,” and it appears they are working to forgive him. The documentary opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.
Watch the trailer below:
