Produced and directed by Christine Choy
Editor/co-director, Spiro Lampros
When Yoshi Hattori, a Japanese high school exchange student, was shot to death one October night by a suburban homeowner, the whole world was shocked once again at America's gun culture. Christine Choy, director of the multi-award -winning film Who Killed Vincent Chin?, spent three years researching the event and the ensuing criminal and civil trials. The result is this searing study in the pathology of urban fear, gun violence, criminal justice and cultural miscommunication.
Yoshi had approached the Baton Rouge home of Rodney and Bonnie Peairs seeking directions to a Halloween party. Bonnie feared the stranger walking up her driveway and summoned her husband. Gun in hand, Rodney shouted "freeze" to which Yoshi, unfamiliar with the idiom, did not comply. Rodney then pulled the trigger.
Hattori's parents, who had raised their son to admire America, suffered their loss with dignity. They recall their son as an honor student who enjoyed life with his host family and was well liked by his new class mates. Rodney Peairs had an extensive gun collection which neighbors remembered he used when animals wandered on his property. The film does not take sides regarding his claim that he was defending his rights as a homeowner. Avoiding simple answers, it serves up a complex picture, letting the audience draw their own conclusions about one of the most controversial criminal cases in recent years.
Hawaii International Film Festival, 1997
San Francisco International Asian Pacific Film Festival, 1997
67 min. Video or DVD. Sale $275. Video rental $65.
"A valuable discussion starter on gun control, cultural differences, etc., especially for teen audiences." Booklist
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