SISTER HELEN

After the death of her husband and two sons, Helen got herself sober and joined the Benedictine order of nuns. Though in her late sixties, she opened a private home for recovering addicts and alcoholics in the South Bronx, where she lives along with 21 men. To live there, they must obey her rules (including ondemand urine samples), adhere to strict curfews, participate in community service, and attend house meetings at her discretion. The film’s fly-on-the-wall technique succeeds in capturing the day-to-day existence of Sister Helen and various residents of the home. Indian-born Ashish, an alcoholic who relapses three times during the course of the film, once owned a string of successful electronic stores but, because of his drinking and gambling, lost them all. Major, an African-American in his late fifties, has been sober for eight years, and feels that his drinking was the source of his bad behavior and time served in prison. Sister Helen often lies awake worrying about those who are losing the fight against using. The men fear and respect her, but her strict moral code often gives rise to conflict.