A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL

Aimee Long’s A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL: SLO FILM FEST 2021 INTERVIEWS: distilling the real life inspiration into the film

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, we talk about the real life inspiration for the project, and how she worked to achieve a nuance with the approach to the issues interweaved within the plot of the film. Aimee also talks about how she went about the research to get the details right – even the mundane police processing and inter office workings – and where she departed from that to take artistic liberties. We also talk about capturing the realness of the Asian American family dynamic, like the authenticity of expressing love with food.

Aimee Long’s A SHOT THROUGH THE WALL: SLO Film Fest 2021 Review; an Asian cop shooting a black man

By Luke Y. Thompson 5 years ago

Everything is told from Mike’s point of view, which admittedly risks minimizing the shooting victim’s story. We barely know anything about the guy who took the bullet. But the stories of such victims are often told elsewhere – the focus here is on the soul of the perpetrator. Can he be exonerated? Does he deserve to be? How much punishment is enough? There’s a heavy subtext of “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Give enough people guns, and the likelihood increases that at least one will fumble in a critical moment, with stakes that are not properly prepared or trained for.