The Last War

The Last War follows the lives of several Japanese civilians, chiefly a family of five, as worldwide events converge towards an all-out nuclear holocaust. The father, played by Frankie Sakai, is gregarious, grouchy, and loving, consumed with his stock portfolio, but also devoted to his wife and three children. His spouse (Nobuko Otowa) suffers from a lingering illness, and acts as both her husband’s patient sounding board and pragmatic moderating influence. Paramount on the mind of the couple’s eldest daughter Seiko is her romance with civilian ship officer Takano (Akira Takarada). Yet Seiko is also anxious about the possibility of nuclear war, a fear her father belittles. —Michael Bogue