OUTSIDE IN

The Wolfpack’s unique family trades movies for real life. Popcorn Panel,

Everyone knows it’s rude to talk during a movie, but once the credits roll, you’re bound to have an opinion that needs, nay demands, sharing. Every other week in Post Movies, experts, artists and movie buffs dissect a recent release. It’s fun. It’s healthier than nachos. It’s the Popcorn Panel.

This week’s panel: Alison Broverman is the editor of the Popcorn Panel. Joy Simmonds is a psychotherapist who provides counselling for individuals, families, and couples. Peter Kuling lectures in Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. This week’s film: The Wolfpack Alison What a harrowing hour and a half we spend with the Angulo family. I feel very conflicted about this movie — on the one hand, the Angulo siblings have an extraordinary story to tell, and the three older boys seem so keen to tell it and finally connect with the outside world. But on the other hand, it is deeply uncomfortable — maybe even exploita- tive — to witness this family coming out of this strange, abusive situation. Joy I wonder about the filmmaker’s intention in exposing this family to the judgment, curiosity and perhaps ridicule of the audience. I felt protective of the gentle, vulnerable brothers who are not just coming out into the world in their own quiet way, but on camera for all of us to see. I wonder what impact the presence of the filmmaker had on their emergence. Despite the presence of their domineering father and the social isolation, the boys seem surprisingly well adjusted, engaging and playful. The real story for me is the mother’s strength and capacity to nurture her children so effectively in such op- pressive circumstances. Peter These kids had no problems inviting the director and crew into their personal space. Cameras have always played a big part in their lives. The compelling family footage on decaying video tapes was really captivating and entrancing. Movies allow so many of us, even if we are isolated from the outside world, to share common imaginative experiences. Somehow, I got pulled into their world. Despite feeling similarly uncomfortable throughout, I still managed to really connect with their experience of the larger world through movies. They are also incredibly knowledgeable film historians, which speaks highly to their cinematic exposure and education. Alison Watching the kids’ own versions of Reservoir Dogs and The Dark Knight was so enchanting, and then seeing the original movie they’re creating at the end is incredibly liberating — they’re starting to see something of the out- side world of their own, and are inspired to create their own film, rather than recreating films they’ve seen as a way of trying to understand a world they’re rarely allowed to visit. The scenes with their mother, Susanne, are also incredibly beautiful — despite their awful situation, the love and sense of protection between the kids and their mom is so palpable. Peter The editing and direction portrayed the mom as a cinematic pastiche of other movie moms from Ordinary People, Terms of Endearment and many more. Kudos to director Crystal Moselle. Film helped everyone in the household find a way to safely portray their unspoken feelings. I still can’t get over the uncomfortable yet compelling way Mukunda dressed up as Michael Myers from Halloween to leave his house undetected. This horrifying yet completely rational idea resulted in a kind of underlying threat to willingly portray other villains and anti-heroes like the Joker and even Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. I really wonder what movie conversations and reenactments got left on the cutting room floor.