In a stark depiction of the dissatisfaction that followed the demise of '60s idealism, UNITED RED ARMY follows the story of the titular left-wing Japanese terrorist group that came together in 1972 as two pre-existing groups merged. Interspersed with large amounts of archival footage and employing a semi-pseudo-documentary style, the film visits upon the key historical figures and events that led to the United Red Army eventually purging much of its membership, leading five student radicals to hole up in the Asano mountain lodge in Nagano Prefecture in a standoff against the police.