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  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 1 h 20 m
  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 1 h 20 m
Herman's House

Summary The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary that follows the unlikely friendship between Jackie Sumell, a New York artist, and Herman Wallace, one of America’s most famous inmates, as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project. [First Run Features]

Directed By: Angad Bhalla

  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 1 h 20 m
  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 1 h 20 m

Herman's House

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
73
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary that follows the unlikely friendship between Jackie Sumell, a New York artist, and Herman Wallace, one of America’s most famous inmates, as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project. [First Run Features]

Directed By: Angad Bhalla

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
73
78% Positive
7 Reviews
22% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

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  • Positive Reviews
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 9 Critic Reviews
73
78% Positive
7 Reviews
22% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
Apr 18, 2013
Bhalla’s advocacy gets its force above all from the oddly similar personalities of the two main subjects — Wallace and Sumell — zealous reformers possessed of astonishing optimism, even as Bhalla closes by noting that there are 80,000 prisoners in solitary in the US.
By Farran Smith Nehme FULL REVIEW
80
Apr 18, 2013
Although this documentary has a powerful political subtext, it is best described as a conceptual art piece about confinement, attached to a dual biography of the artist and the prisoner.
By Stephen Holden FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 16, 2013
Herman's House is conventionally produced, but it does right by its two uncommon subjects.
FULL REVIEW
70
Apr 16, 2013
A portrait of an invisible man, Herman's House is a raised voice in the constitutional debate over solitary confinement.
FULL REVIEW
65
Apr 18, 2013
Herman's House would benefit from more background material on Wallace, notably about the alleged weakness of the murder rap against him. In the end, though, neither Sumell nor the film is concerned with that. Their goal is to make palpable — and palpably horrific — the fact of living 23 hours a day in caged isolation.
By Mark Jenkins FULL REVIEW
60
Apr 18, 2013
Although it sketchily touches on many provocative issues -- the inhumanity of this form of incarceration, the relationship between the artist and subject -- Herman’s House fails to explore them in a fully satisfying manner.
By Frank Scheck FULL REVIEW
60
Apr 16, 2013
It’s an absorbing, prickly tale, which Bhalla doesn’t tell as coherently as he could have — oddly fitting, considering this is a story about frustrated ambitions and unfulfilled potential.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Release Date Apr 19, 2013
Duration 1 h 20 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Tagline 40 years in solitary. What would you dream of?
Website http://www.facebook.com/hermanshousethefilm
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Awards

Canadian Screen Awards, CA
• 2 Nominations
Harlem International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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