United Red Army (2007)

The film outlines Japanese students movements in the 60s, then shows the formation of the Japanese United Red Army, a communist armed resistance group.

Director:

Kôji Wakamatsu

Writers:

Kôji Wakamatsu, Masayuki Kakegawa (novel)

Stars:

Maki Sakai, Arata Iura, Akie Namiki

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Maki Sakai	...	Mieko Toyama
Arata Iura	...	Hiroshi Sakaguchi (as Arata)
Akie Namiki	...	Hiroko Nagata
Gô Jibiki	...	Tsuneo Mori
Shima Ohnishi	...	Kunio Bando
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Abe
Tomori Abe	...	Michiyo Kaneko
Anri Ban	...	Fusako Shigenobu
Kenji Date
Yuki Fujii
Yoshio Harada	...	(voice)
Len Hisa
Megumi Ichinose
Keigo Kasuya
Junpei Kawa

Storyline

A story about the rise and fall of United Red Army, a real life 70s short-lived Japanese armed revolutionary communist movement similar to more famous Red Brigades in Italy or Baader-Meinhof Group (a.k.a. Red Army Faction) in West Germany.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese history | cultlike | extremist group | leftist radical group | armed terrorists | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Tomo yo
Written by Nobuyasu Okabayashi

User Reviews

A tough but interesting film

In the early 60s student protests lead to the formation of a few left leaning organisations. Events spiral through the 60s with the protests turning into student revolts. Two organisation come to the fore as the most radical and enduring: the RAF, and the RLF. The two of them decide to join and form the United Red Army with the aim of starting a revolution that will lead to a better world. Except things don't go according to plan and events spiral down into an orgy of hatred, torture, and violence.

This is an uncompromising film directed by master of controversy Koji Wakamatsu. The story is linear and easy to follow. Perhaps it saturates the viewer with too much information, and some parts are too long, but it is quite interesting to see the formation of a terrorist group and their descent to hell. Furthermore, the fact that Wakamatsu knew a lot of the terrorists, himself participating in some of their earliest actions adds weight to the film.

It is a tough film to watch but quite interesting.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 May 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

United Red Army

Filming Locations:

Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,161, 29 May 2011

Gross USA:

$2,659

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,318

Company Credits

Production Co:

Skhole Co., Wakamatsu Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

190 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1