United Red Army (The Young Man Was, Part I)
Naeem Mohaiemen
| Bangladesh, USA, Japan
| 2012
| 70 min
This innovative documentary is a master class in suspense, built on the incredible real life recordings of a hostage negotiation. In 1977, flight JAL472 was hijacked by the Japanese Red Army and landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Filmmaker Naeem Mohaiemen was a boy at the time watching the events unfolds live on his television. Largely using the simple device of text on screen, Mohaiemen manages to convey a gripping and tense narrative. As the disembodied voices let us into the most classified of conversations an uneasy relationship develops between hijacker and military commander, bridging a gulf between them of culture, language and some crackly airwaves.
Director Naeem Mohaiemen
Producer Naeem Mohaiemen
Premiere Australian Premiere
Section International Competition
Festival Year 2012