Critics reviews

Valdez’s footage is meant to serve as a document of the many years Cindy loses with her daughters—which is why so much of what appears in The Sentence, particularly the very best moments, feel more like home movies than a documentary, per se.

It's impossible to witness the emotions of the children, of Adam, of the Valdez parents, of Cindy, without feeling for them—it's an emotionally exhausting film—but a little bit of perspective might have resulted in an even more politically urgent document. As it is, though, "The Sentence" is the beginning of a conversation that needs to continue.