This movie is one of the best anti-war films I have ever seen, on par with such films as The Day After. Threads, The War Game, and When the Wind Blows.
Where as The Day After deals with multiple people from multiple families dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear war, The Last War mainly sticks with one five-person Japanese family and the few people who are like family to them, such as the fiancee of the family's eldest daughter, as they deal with the rising tensions between stand-ins for NATO and the Soviet Union and all the anxieties that would naturally come with escalating tensions that could result in nuclear holocaust.
The patriarch of the family, Mokichi Tamura (played by late Japanese comedian Frankie Sakai) is a limo driver who is in compete denial about the tensions up until the final few minutes before the titular war happens. He breaks down and rants to the sky about all the things he has yet to do, such as see his daughter get married, see his son (who is in the range of 5-7 years old) go off to college, the college he never went to, among other things.
This movie also shows schoolchildren is what I assume is the Japanese equivalent to kindergarten being comforted by a teacher. These kids have no idea what is going on which brings you back to that point in your life where you lived in your own little world with no idea about the scary stuff in the real world.
The special effects of when Tokyo is hit by a nuclear bomb are incredible; buildings are completely obiterated, airplanes are thrown about like toys, Tokyo bay becomes boiling hot and the nuclear fire just destroys everything it can while a giant red mushroom cloud rises over the city but it's not over yet. Acid rain comes down and destroys even more buildings, a volcano erupts (I assume it's Mount Fuji but it's miles away from Tokyo so it's either artistic license or another volcano) and what little is left of Tokyo at this point is swept away in rivers of lava... the final shot of the movie shows what precious little is left of the Diet Building, possibly the only remaining thing in Tokyo.
Definitely watch this movie if you like antiwar/anti-nuclear weapons movies. It is easily on par with the original 1954 Gojira. I recommend watching this on a double bill with The Day After... I recommend The Day After first, then The Last War.
I was iffy on putting a spoiler tag on this since the movies title kind of spoils the ending but better safe than sorry.
Where as The Day After deals with multiple people from multiple families dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear war, The Last War mainly sticks with one five-person Japanese family and the few people who are like family to them, such as the fiancee of the family's eldest daughter, as they deal with the rising tensions between stand-ins for NATO and the Soviet Union and all the anxieties that would naturally come with escalating tensions that could result in nuclear holocaust.
The patriarch of the family, Mokichi Tamura (played by late Japanese comedian Frankie Sakai) is a limo driver who is in compete denial about the tensions up until the final few minutes before the titular war happens. He breaks down and rants to the sky about all the things he has yet to do, such as see his daughter get married, see his son (who is in the range of 5-7 years old) go off to college, the college he never went to, among other things.
This movie also shows schoolchildren is what I assume is the Japanese equivalent to kindergarten being comforted by a teacher. These kids have no idea what is going on which brings you back to that point in your life where you lived in your own little world with no idea about the scary stuff in the real world.
The special effects of when Tokyo is hit by a nuclear bomb are incredible; buildings are completely obiterated, airplanes are thrown about like toys, Tokyo bay becomes boiling hot and the nuclear fire just destroys everything it can while a giant red mushroom cloud rises over the city but it's not over yet. Acid rain comes down and destroys even more buildings, a volcano erupts (I assume it's Mount Fuji but it's miles away from Tokyo so it's either artistic license or another volcano) and what little is left of Tokyo at this point is swept away in rivers of lava... the final shot of the movie shows what precious little is left of the Diet Building, possibly the only remaining thing in Tokyo.
Definitely watch this movie if you like antiwar/anti-nuclear weapons movies. It is easily on par with the original 1954 Gojira. I recommend watching this on a double bill with The Day After... I recommend The Day After first, then The Last War.
I was iffy on putting a spoiler tag on this since the movies title kind of spoils the ending but better safe than sorry.