United Red Army (2011)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
55% of users liked it
(2,100 ratings)

Shot in a raw verite style, United Red Army explores the political unrest of 1960s Japan, when mass student uprisings coincided with the beginnings of the far-left United Red Army group, which tortured and murdered its "deviant" members during a 1972 training session. Mr. Wakamatsu's harrowing film… More Shot in a raw verite style, United Red Army explores the political unrest of 1960s Japan, when mass student uprisings coincided with the beginnings of the far-left United Red Army group, which tortured and murdered its "deviant" members during a 1972 training session. Mr. Wakamatsu's harrowing film depicts the famed Asama-Sanso incident, which began when members of the United Red Army assassinated 14 of its own, during a group "self-criticism" session, and then broke into a holiday lodge below Mount Asama and took the wife of the lodge-keeper as a hostage. A standoff between police and the URA radicals took place, lasting ten days.--(c) Lorber

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 3 hr. 10 min.
Directed By: Koji Wakamatsu
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: May 27, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Jan 17, 2012
Studio: Lorber Films

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
If you're keeping tabs on the recent cinematic reconsideration of 1960s and '70s left-wing terrorism, Wakamatsu's devastating chronicle of the ultra-violent fringe of Japanese student radicalism is a must-see.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Running more than three hours, "United Red Army" is a raw mix of documentary and fiction...
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
The stilted and awkward physical and vocal performances in combination with the visually flat cinematography bring to mind the look, sound and visual texture of American daytime soaps, an association that perversely makes the movie more and more watchable.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Grueling [but] engrossing.
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
...historical drama as psychological thriller.
Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International
Kôji Wakamatsu's messy, punishing 2008 meta-docudrama about the cult-like sect of 1970s Japanese revolutionaries gets a long-overdue release.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
The film's commitment to representing the harsh truths of an unfortunate historical moment is admirable, but it tends to grate rather than illuminate.
Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
Kôji Wakamatsu's achievement is to show us how that violence can turn as easily inward as it does out.
Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment Magazine
Wakamatsu puts this history across with the uncompromising insistence of a nailed-up manifesto.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Compelling tale of ultraleftism becoming nihilistic in Japan.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Cast

            Akie Namiki as Hiroko Nagata

            Arata as Hiroshi Sakaguchi

            Takaki Uda
            
            Soran Tamoto
            
            Maki Sakai as Mieko Toyama

            Anri Ban as Fusako Shigenobu

            Go Jibiki as Tsuneo Mori

            Shima Onishi
            
            Tak Sakaguchi
            
            Hideo Nakaizumi
            
            Shiro Sano
            
            Kaoru Okunuki
            
            Maria Abe
            
            Kenji Date
            
            Yuki Fujii
            
            Yoshio Harada
            
            Len Hisa
            
            Megumi Ichinose
            
            Keigo Kasuya
            
            Junpei Kawa
            
            Etsuko Kizen
            
            Chie Kôzu
            
            Genji Kuroi
            
            Sentaro Kusakabe
            
            Makoto Miyahara
            
            Akiko Monou
            
            Nao Okabe
            
            Erica Okuda
            
            Nobumitsu Onishi
            
            Yugo Saso
            
            Yasuko Tajima
            
            Hassei Takano
            
            Nobuya Tamaichi
            
            Kazuki Tsujimoto
            
            Naoki Yamamoto
            
See full cast

Photos

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