Should you watch A?
Who it’s good for, who it isn’t, and what’s in it. No ratings, no scores.

A
Documentary · 1998
Roughly chronological, from 3/96 to 11/96, with a coda in spring of 1997: inside compounds of Aum Shinrikyo, a Buddhist sect led by Shoko Asahara. (Members confessed to a murderous sarin attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995.) We see what they eat, where they sleep, and how they respond to media scrutiny, on-going trials, the shrinking of their fortunes, and the criticism of society. Central focus is placed on Hiroshi Araki, a young man who finds himself elevated to chief spokesman for Aum after its leaders are arrested. Araki faces extreme hostility from the Japanese public, who find it hard to believe that most followers of the cult had no idea of the attacks and even harder to understand why these followers remain devoted to the religion, if not the violence.
The sides of A
- Inside the Aum Shinrikyo compounds after the sarin attack
- A young spokesman facing a hostile press
- Followers who stayed with the faith
A is good for you if…
- you want to see the Aum sect from inside, a year after the Tokyo subway attack.
- you like a film that refuses to tell you what to think of the people it films.
- you can sit with long, quiet scenes of daily life in a compound.
A is bad for you if…
- you won't read subtitles for over two hours.
- you find 136 minutes of quiet observation too long.
About: faith · the media · guilt
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