'The Wolfpack' & Their Extraordinary Journey
The Angulo brothers discuss how they became the subject of the award-winning documentary The Wolfpack, and how cinema became their salvation.
In 2010, New York’s School of Visual Arts graduate Crystal Moselle was walking down First Avenue when she came across a group of smartly dressed, long-haired gentlemen walking in sync. After approaching the group, Moselle discovered that they were brothers aged between 11-18-years-old and named Govinda, Narayana, Bhagavan, Mukunda, Glenn and Eddie Angulo.
After developing a close friendship, Moselle later discovered that the brothers had only recently started discovering the streets of New York after having spent the majority of their lives confined to their family apartment. They later explained that their father Oscar did not encourage his children to interact with society, therefore banning his wife Susanne, six sons and daughter Visnu from leaving their six-room apartment. Sometimes their father would allow them to go outside a couple of times a year and, one particular year, not at all. The main solace for the brothers became watching and re-enacting movies, which allowed them to create their own worlds through the films that they loved.
Over the next four-and-a-half years, Moselle documented the Angulo brothers inside their New York home – as well as their first experiences outside – capturing a unique story that eventually became The Wolfpack. Four of the six brothers arrived in London to share their experiences alongside their director, and I spoke with Mukunda, Narayana, Govinda and Eddie Angulo about their incredible journey and amazing relationship with movies.
“My first thought was ‘of what?’ We don’t do much around here,” laughs 22-year-old Narayana on discussing Moselle’s proposition of a documentary. “We were picturing what it would be like to have a camera following us”, adds 21-year-old Mukunda, “but we realised that we sort of did that anyway.” Although enjoying their newfound friendship, the brothers admitted that initially it was a large adjustment. “We kind of kept our guard up at first because she’d ask us questions that no one else asked us”, says Narayana. “We were testing the waters a bit”, cites 22-year-old Govinda, “but when she told us that she was a filmmaker, that was it.”
Five years on, the Angulo brothers are now enjoying and discovering a worldoutside the only one that they knew: even attending the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to see the documentary take home the prestigious Grand Jury Prize. “It was truly an amazing experience just being out in the mountains and being in a community where everyone values each other’s films”, recalls Narayana. “We had always hoped that it would connect with an audience on some level and that they would connect with the story”, adds Mukunda, “but not on this level.”
I was fortunate enough to discuss their first cinematic experiences and the movies that truly affected them. “I was mostly into action or classic horror movies, but when I first saw The Godfather (1972) I started to get into the movies that won awards: I love that classic part of cinema”, recalls Narayana. “Friday the 13th Part III (1982)”, cites Eddie, “it scared me and I loved it!” Govinda confirms that Taxi Driver (1976) was the one for him: “the fact that it was about this loner in New York City resonated with me and affected me in a big way.” Mukunda is the final brother to reveal his definitive movie experience: “It was Halloween H20 (1998) – the Halloween franchise was the first to really hit me that there was this whole movie world out there.”
Despite Mukunda’s profound passion for cinema, he and his brothers are much more used to being the spectator rather than spectacle. However, their infectious sincerity and eclectic enthusiasm marks them as cinematic as the characters that they watch onscreen. When asked if it was a strange experience watching The Wolfpack for the first time, Mukunda responds “when I first saw it I viewed it as an audience member.” He continues, “What I loved about it is that it’s not done in the traditional documentary style.” Govinda agrees, adding “It throws you all over the place in various vibes; but all of this is exactly how our childhood was and Crystal knowing it without being there is fascinating.”
As well as the six brothers, another Angulo family member explored in The Wolfpack is their mother, Susanne. Born in Michigan, Susanne met her husband Oscar Angulo when he worked as a tour guide in Peru. In 1989, the couple married and travelled the world before returning to New York for good in 1995. The brothers’ unconditional love for their mother is evident, as are the lengths they would go to protect the woman who raised them. On the topic of her reaction to the film, Mukunda replies, “She was really touched by it. Not only is it so in depth with emotion”, he adds, “it held a lot of memories that she had forgotten about and it helped her find peace.”
Admiring an array of filmmakers, from Quentin Tarantino to Akira Kurosawa, the occasional tearjerker is always a favourite in the Angulo household. “The dance sequence in Blue Velvet (1986) did it for me”, says Eddie, whereas Cinema Paradiso (1988) is the one for Govinda. The entire season of Twin Peaks (1990-91) is a firm favourite of Mukunda’s, whilst “The most recent is Listen to Me Marlon (2015)”, recalls Narayana. On the other hand, on discussing the scariest movie that they had ever seen, the brothers unanimously reply, “The Exorcist (1973) – nothing in life ever scared us more!”
As a result of the rave reviews surrounding The Wolfpack at Sundance, many have been keen to meet the brothers, including some of their idols such as David O.Russell and Robert De Niro. Touched by the brothers’ story, the boys were able to meet them both, not to mention The Exorcist director himself, William Friedkin. “To meet the man who scared you most in the entire world? Amazing”, recalls Eddie. Additionally, referring to their recent encounter with renowned actor Tim Roth, Mukunda recalls “To actually meet your heroes in real life and doing the Reservoir Dogs walk down the street with him: I felt like an 8-year-old kid again.”
Not only now are the Angulo brothers meeting their favourite filmmakers, but they are becoming ones themselves with Mukunda recently directing his family in a short film called Mirror Heart. “We’re starting our own production company called Wolfpack Pictures”, he adds, “We have projects in the works that are leading us into doing bigger and longer projects.”
The Angulo brothers are the pure heart and soul of Moselle’s extraordinary documentary. Their personal and humane approach to life is astonishing and incredibly personal to many. Despite now pursuing their own endeavours, and enjoying the success of the film, the brothers remain true to their eternal love and appreciation for cinema, proving that imagination and the power of film is more than just entertainment: it is salvation. To conclude, when asked the final and definitive question of their ultimate movie character, the brothers give admirable and iconic answers. “It changes but right now it would be Cooper from Interstellar (2014)”, cites Mukunda. Govinda adds, “I’d like to be Charles Foster Kane: I think it would be fun to run a newspaper” whilst Narayana affirms, “Mine would be The Bride from Kill Bill (2003).” And finally Eddie – the youngest member of the family at just 16 – replies: “That’s easy for me: Mad Max!”