I Am Vanessa Guillen

What's particularly remarkable about this true-crime documentary is how it focuses more on the judicial aftermath of Vanessa's killing than the details of the crime itself. Here's a story where even the family of the deceased victim know very little about the whys, primarily due to its occurrence at Fort Hood, a US Army post, and the fact that military law is vastly different from civilian law. It is pretty easy to connect with the Guillens and the people who support them, and that isn't just because they're immigrants. It could be one of the reasons for sure, but there's still a lot to appreciate here - be it the plight of the younger sisters (especially Lupe, who's like a shining beacon of hope) or the mother who lost her daughter at such a young age, the lawyer Natalie Khawam who joins them in their fight for justice, and the folks who came out to support them in passing the bill for independent prosection of sexual assault cases in the military.

While the family's effort pays off to some extent (and it's depicted as a victory moment), the concerned folks remark that it is just a first step in many. Credit should go to the makers for not sensationalizing the details of the crime, and instead, pulling us into this emotional journey of a family that's fighting a relatively big fight. So, if you're looking for an investigative, details-driven true-crime piece, this might not entirely hold your interest. It definitely did hold mine (with slight pacing issues), as the story progressively moved into a more insightful, affecting space.