History · Crime · Documentary

Me and the Cult Leader: A Modern Report on the Banality of Evil

Released

2021-03-20

Runtime

114 min

Performance score

Not rated

Atsushi Sakahara, a victim of the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo's subway system, travels with Hiroshi Araki, an executive of Aleph (formerly Aum Shinrikyo), the attack's perpetrators, visiting their respective hometowns and the university they both attended. Conversations unfold, building intimacy: we learn why Araki joined the infamous organization led by Shoko Asahara and why, still, Araki remains an executive member of the cult, even though he was not directly involved in any of the crimes.The beginning of a friendship, a trip for redemption, or the confirmation that each human has to go their own way.