It’s a story many Americans do not know — the 1966 mass murder on the University of Texas campus. A gunman climbed up to the top of the University’s signature tower and began shooting down on the students. Shortly after the sniper opened fire, a local TV station had a reporter on the scene — so a lot of the shooting is captured on film. Although film director Keith Maitland uses some of that footage, his decision to use animation to tell the story makes it fresh — and oddly enough — somewhat hopeful.
I won’t review the film to prevent revealing his storytelling method other than to say that the film is built around interviews with victims, bystanders and the officers involved that day. Their words become the backdrop to the shooting that left 14 dead and 31 wounded. As the roughly hour-long ordeal unfolds, ‘average people’ become real heroes on that hot August day. The action of one young woman is simply astounding.
Although some critics say Maitland tells an incomplete story (warning: review does give movie details) I disagree. I feel Maitland tells a very interesting and engaging story about the event that, unfortunately, ushered in the mass-shooting era that still exists today.
Rated 5 out of 5.
Charlie R. Claywell 