The Sentence explores the devastating consequences of mass incarceration and mandatory minimum drug sentencing through the story of Cindy Shank, a mother of three young children serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement in a Michigan drug ring years before. A lyrical, intimate story documented over 10 years by Cindy's younger brother, filmmaker Rudy Valdez, The Sentence follows Cindy’s struggles to be present in her children's lives from behind bars and her daughters' experiences growing up without their mother at home, while her husband, parents and siblings fight for her release before the last months of the Obama administration's Clemency Project.
I didn't wanna watch this today because I just couldn't bear to see something heavy that more than likely was gonna make me mad. I looked through the list of films in my lil' notepad and The Sentence jumped out at me. I dismissed it, went to the app and scrolled through my watchlist and again, the tiny image of the film's poster caught my eye. "FINE!" I thought to myself, "I'll stinkin' watch it." Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I did. Getting to know Cindy's family, watching her adorable daughters grow up, and seeing how much love this family had for eachother was truly a privilege. The last twenty minutes had me near weeping while going through multiple tissues. It was worse than an episode of Little House, in terms of tugging at the heartstrings. Once I finish watching all the docs on my Kanopy list, I will absolutely re-watch The Sentence.
(photo kidnapped from rogerebert)
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