The Sentence

This article is about the 2018 film. For the Outer Limits episode, see The Sentence (The Outer Limits). For other uses, see Sentence.

The Sentence is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Rudy Valdez.

The Sentence
Film poster
Directed by	Rudy Valdez
Produced by	Jackie Kelman Bisbee Sam Bisbee
Cinematography	Rudy Valdez
Edited by	Viridiana Lieberman
Music by	Sam Bisbee
Production company	Park Pictures
Distributed by	Home Box Office (HBO)
Release date	January 20, 2018 (2018-01-20) (Sundance)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Synopsis

Filmmaker Rudy Valdez shows how his family is impacted when his sister is convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Release

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 90%, based on 20 reviews.^[1] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[2]

Kenneth Turan writing for the Los Angeles Times called the movie, "a personal and horrifying look at the effect of mandatory minimum prison sentences"^[3] Dennis Harvey from Variety magazine said that the documentary was "earnest but flawed", stating: "The subject is inherently engrossing, but a better documentary could (and probably will) be made about it."^[4] Dan Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The Sentence is so committed to its concentration on emotion and heart that it's difficult not to get carried away, and it feels almost churlish to quibble with the intellectual responses it barely aspires to."^[5]

The Sentence received several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking in 2019.^[6]

References

1. "The Sentence (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
2. "The Sentence (2018)". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
3. Turan, Kenneth (Oct 11, 2018). "Review: 'The Sentence' takes a personal and horrifying look at the effect of mandatory minimum prison sentences". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
4. Harvey, Dennis (Aug 1, 2018). "Film Review: 'The Sentence'". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
5. Fienberg, Dan (January 20, 2018). "'The Sentence': Film Review - Sundance 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
6. "Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking - 2019". Emmys. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.

External links

• The Sentence at IMDb
• The Sentence at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Sentence at Metacritic