Sister Helen
HBO Films | Release Date: October 24, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
A memorable portrait of a true New York character, Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa's documentary ably captures the blazing force at its center. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Sister Helen don't take no bull. Read full review
70
Film ThreatEric Campos
See the true story of Sister Helen and her band of weary men now. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
Riveting portrait of a straight-talking, tough-loving Benedictine nun in charge of a South Bronx home for recovering substance abusers. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
An unforgettable tribute to a remarkable life, Sister Helen is inspirational in a way a film about a more conventionally pious religious figure could never be. Travis seems to be the antithesis of a cardboard saint. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Using a fly-on-the-wall camera technique that suggests the cinéma vérité documentaries of Frederick Wiseman, Ms. Cammisa and Mr. Fruchtman vividly capture the dynamic of tenderness and rage that characterizes Sister Helen's relationship with the 21 men who live under her roof. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The unspoken question that underlies their struggles is whether a facility run by sheer force of personality can survive when that personality is gone; the film ends on a cautiously hopeful note. Read full review
40
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
Perhaps if Sister Helen had been released when filming was completed in 2000, its tough-loving Irish nun, who gives hell to male drug addicts in a Mott Haven "safe house," might have passed for endearing. Read full review
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