Sister Helen
Sister Helenoffers a candid look at an unconventional nun. Tough-talking Sister Helen Travis is a recovered alcoholic who reinvented herself at age 56, after the loss of her husband and sons, by joining the Benedictine order in 1986. Two years later, she opened a recovery center for men in the rat-infested South Bronx (literally--the tenants battle several during the course of the film). As Sister Helen explains, "I try to do for other people's sons what I didn't do for my own. It's a second chance." Daughter Mary helps out at the center, but life mostly revolves around men like Major, an alcoholic, and Robert, a crack addict. They're everything to her and she to them--mother, counselor, warden. Her rules are strict (no female visitors, regular urine tests, community service), but her love and support is boundless.Sister Helenis a worthy testament to an unforgettable character.--Kathleen C. Fennessy