New York, Lower East Side. Raised by poor parents, the six Angulo brothers almost never left their apartment in 14 years. To protect them from the violence of the world outside, their father locked them up, letting them out only on rare occasions. Their only link to reality is American film, which becomes a refuge and a source of inspiration for them all, as they reproduce scenes from their favorite movies. But things start to unravel as they get old enough to decide to go outside and explore the city – their first steps in a complicated emancipation.

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When Crystal Moselle met six long-haired brothers in sunglasses on the streets of Manhattan one day, she decided they would be the subject of her first film. This documentary about boys who survived the incarceration of their childhood thanks to an incredible talent for improvisation (as evidenced by their very impressive, 100% homemade Batman costume) poses a certain number of questions: just how conscious were the members of the family – whether those not quite balanced or those too young – of what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to be in Moselle’s film? It raises as many issues as it answers, in the end leaving the bitter impression that its main value lies in the incredible characters it contents itself with observing, without delving any deeper.