United Red Army (2007) by Koji Wakamatsu [Video]

A genuine masterpiece, a film where all the elements that characterized Wakamatsu’s vast filmography come together in the most elaborate way.

The magnum opus of Koji Wakamatsuis actually not a low budget pink/exploitation film but a true political epic of 190 minutes that would stay in history both for the final result, and for the production details, before, during and after the shootings were completed. To finance the film, Wakamatsu flooded Tokyo with pamphlets requesting pledges of substantial sums of money to finance the project, with Jim O’Rourke (ex-member of Sonic Youth and the one who was responsible for the soundtrack) and film critic Inuhiko Yomota being among those who decided to help. When it became obvious that the funding was not enough, he mortgaged his house, which, he used to shoot the finale of the movie, destroying it in the process. Furthermore, he demanded that the actresses would not wear make-up, that they would …