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United Red Army is a political drama based on the true events that took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan. The film showcases the radicalization of the youth and their involvement in left-wing activism, which ultimately culminated in the formation of the immensely violent and fanatical United Red Army. The movie starts with a group of leftist students who hope to bring about a social revolution in Japan. They form the militant Red Army Faction, lead by Harada, and begin their violent campaign against the government, police, and capitalist institutions that they believe to be exploiting the people. The movie shows how the Japanese government used various tactics to depoliticize the student movement, which ultimately led to its radicalization.

The film focuses on the lives of the members of the Red Army Faction, showcasing how idealistic leftist scholars were transformed into terrorist radicals. The group's ideology rapidly turns Maoist, and they abandon their Marxist ideas in favor of violent tactics. The central characters of the film are Hiroko Nagata, a bright and enthusiastic student who joined the leftist movement to bring about change in society. She is a fictional character and is representative of the women who joined the movement. The other main protagonist is Tsuneo Mori, an idealistic and passionate Communist man who harbored ambitions of changing the world through his activism.

The movie portrays the brutality of the United Red Army's cult-like regime, in which group members forced fellow members to confess to being "traitors" before subjecting them to violent punishment. The film spans a period of over a decade, from the early student demonstrations to the attack on the French Embassy, ending with the surrender of the faction's last surviving members after a bloody standoff with the authorities in a mountain lodge.

The film is an emotionally charged portrayal of people who blindly pursued their revolutionary dreams, never realizing their actions' consequences. The narrative is not one of stereotypical villains versus a heroic protagonist; instead, it is a distressing portrayal of idealistic and passionate young adults being swallowed up and ultimately obliterated in their fanatical pursuit of a utopian society. The story is one of brutality, loss, and a wasted generation, which underscores the cost of fanaticism.

The film's cinematography is unapologetically raw and immersive, with the director capturing the gritty details of the era, from run-down building interiors to the unmanaged student demonstrations. The movie's score also adds an air of urgency to the growing tension of the narrative. The characters are all exceptional actors who bring their substantial talent to the screen, allowing the audience to empathize and connect with their characters' struggles and beliefs.

In conclusion, United Red Army is a harrowing depiction of the aspirations and failures of a generation of idealistic young adults who wanted a better world. Their fanaticism culminated in violence, death, and destruction, resulting in a devastating end that continues to haunt the society in which they were born. The film is not just a historical document of the era but also a warning that political radicalization breeds only violence and tragedy. For anyone interested in Japanese history, politics, or the revolutionary ideals of the sixties, United Red Army is a must-see.

United Red Army is a 2011 drama with a runtime of 3 hours and 10 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1 and a MetaScore of 67.