A

When members of the Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo released poisonous sarin gas in Tokyo's subways in 1995, few people had ever heard of the group, and fewer still could comprehend their motivations. Filmmaker Mori Tatsua received permission from Aum Shinrikyo to record the group's activities from the inside, and the result is A, a detailed look at the cult, their leader Araki Hiroshi, their beliefs, and their surprisingly staid day-to-day existence, which says as much about Japanese culture as it does about their own viewpoints. A was shown in the Forum section of the 1999 Berlin Film Festival.