Kidnapped!

In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of young Japanese people mysteriously disappeared in broad daylight. Over the years, more and more hints popped up indicating that they were kidnapped by North Korea, in order to teach North Korean spies the Japanese language. Only when the Japanese and North Korean governments could not get away with it anymore did they admit to the abduction. It is established fact that at least 13 Japanese were kidnapped, but this number could very well be much higher. Incorporating archival footage and eyewitness accounts, Kidnapped! reconstructs the abductions, the stories of various desperate parents and the attempt, gradually turning into a highly sensitive national and international issue, to bring back the kidnapped persons and their relatives to Japan. What began as a fairly isolated struggle by a few parents develops into a national movement that generates an enormous media hype and boosts public opinion, putting pressure on Japan to abandon its post-war pacific attitude. When, after lengthy negotiations spanning decades, the five living abductees return, there is joy, but many questions remain unanswered. There are indications that the deceased are not really dead, and the returning survivors refuse to talk about what really happened. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)