The documentary The Wolfpack gives an emotional look into the lives of six boys living in an apartment in New York with their sister and parents. With their father’s strict rules, one of the Angulo boys admits that the apartment can feel like a jail — there have been years when they didn’t leave.

Through not always steady shots of the boys acting out entire movies, playing instruments and doing other, more mundane, daily activities, the Angulos’ voiceovers tell their story, supplemented by home video footage from their childhood.

The beginning of the documentary gives an in-depth look at how the boys grew up and what their lives had become, up to the point director Crystal Moselle showed up.

As the family begins to break the father’s rules more and more, a few points are left unexplored. Their mother calls her mother, apparently for the first time in years, and a visit is planned. We never see what becomes of this and are left wondering why the scene was not cut. Around the same time, a cat appears in their apartment with no explanation.

Though the documentary is not seamless and may leave the audience with a few too many questions, it’s a heart wrenching and beautiful story with a hopeful ending.

Published in Volume 70, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 10, 2015)