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5 Films to See This Week: “The Wolfpack,” “Eden,” and More

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“The Wolfpack” – Film Society of Lincoln Center (through June 25)Crystal Moselle’s sympathetic documentary follows the Angulos, a close-knit family that lives in relative isolation in a project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Locked inside their apartment, away from society, by their Hare Krishna father, the seven children (six boys and one girl) developed their own world, influenced equally by beloved movies — they reenact their favorite scenes from films like “Reservoir Dogs,” which they seem to have memorized start to finish — and their burgeoning desire to experience life outside their windows. Moselle was granted remarkable access to the children and allows them to speak about their experiences and their desires, in some cases for the first time. It’s easy to laugh at the children or observe them clinically because of their unusual upbringing. But Moselle brings us into their world, creating an intimacy within the unfamiliar space.“The Tribe” – Film Forum (opens June 17)In this miserabilist Ukrainian drama, a school for the deaf is overrun by teenaged criminals who deal in stolen goods and prostitution, servicing lonely men at the nearby truck stop. Filmmaker Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy presents his tale in sign language, without subtitles. Forcing us to decipher the characters’ body language leads us to focus more intently, even when we want to turn away in disgust.“Eden” – IFC Center (opens June 19)Mia Hansen-Løve co-wrote this fictionalization of her personal odyssey through the past two decades of electronic music in France with her brother, Sven Hansen-Løve, who is the model for the main character, Paul, an aspiring Parisian DJ obsessed with house music. Although “Eden” boasts a floor-rocking soundtrack (Daft Punk, whose members appear as characters in the film, licensed its songs to the filmmakers for an absurdly low price), it is less about music than about generational drift. As in her previous features — “All is Forgiven” (2007), “The Father of My Children” (2009), and “Goodbye First Love” (2011) — Hansen-Løve skillfully captures the fleeting passions of the young on the cusp of adulthood.“Goodfellas” – Film Forum (opens June 19)Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed gangster film, released 25 years ago, is back in a DCP restoration (which while not ideal, seems like all we’re going to get at the moment). Starring Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci in a career-defining performance  — including the now-canonical “What do you mean I’m funny?” scene — the film got some unwanted recent attention, thanks to a repulsive piece by New York Post’s conservative film critic Kyle Smith explaining why women are incapable of understanding it.“The Passion of Joan of Arc” – Anthology Film Archives (June 20, 21)A nice companion piece to Marion Cotillard’s recent performance in the New York Philharmonic’s production of “Joan of Arc at the Stake,” Carl Theodor Dreyer’s landmark 1928 silent film, starring Maria Falconetti as Joan, will sear your eyeballs with images you will never forget. Truly an essential piece of film history, it’s also a perfect introduction to the work of Dryer, who made only a handful of films, all well worth seeking out.ALSO WORTH SEEING: “The Strange Little Cat” (Spectacle Theater, June 13, 17); “The End of the Tour” (Brooklyn Academy of Music, June 17); “Buffalo 66” (Anthology Film Archives, June 19); “Captain Lightfoot” (Museum of Modern Art, June 19)

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