Good Film

I thought this was a very good movie, and the Anti-American sentiment was portrayed realistically. Americans arriving in Australia after the bombs were dropped would certainly be treated this way (as would any Chinese), whether or not the treatment would be justified is up for debate. I'm glad the movie didn't focus primarily on this. It still had a story to tell.

I loved everyone in this film. Bryan Brown probably was the worst of the bunch, though, only because he didn't have too much meat to his character, thus his demise at the end didn't carry as much weight as it should have.

Besides that (and the questionable last scene), I really enjoyed this movie. It was depressing but at the same time very touching and humane. The scenes in Alaska (and especially the shots of San Francisco) were eerie, and there was always this building tension.

I also liked it because (as the original) it didn't focus on the traditional movie plot. There is no saving grace that occurs in the final moments. They know the worst is going to happen, they try to find a way to fight it, but ultimately they realize there's nothing they can do...and so the majority of them die with dignity.

I would also recommend the 1998 Canadian film "Last Night" which deals with the end of the world in a similar manner.

I am an Australian academic who specialises in American History. I have taught close to probably fifty American exchange students at an Australian university since 1998. The students have been continually surprised at the level of anti-American sentiment expressed to them (particularly in bars). The open hostility towards Americans is in large measure restricted to verbal tirades regarding perceived American arrogance and insularity. This is a trend which became acute under the leadership of President George W. Bush.

This said, the remarkable level of support that my American students received in September to December (when they went home) of 2001, was heartening. They all expressed to me an appreciation of the support and well wishes that they received from Australians - many who had simply overheard them speaking and picked up on their accents. Following the invasion of Iraq however, this air of goodwill was lost. Afghanistan was one thing, and was accepted with generally good graces. The rhetoric used by the president in selling the Iraq war was poorly selected for maintaining America’s popular support internationally.

The presentation of anti-American views in the movie would have been typical, in my opinion, of many sober Australians following such a nuclear exchange. Most of us tend not to resort to outright attacks or unprovoked assaults. However, if anyone interferes with our somewhat laid-back lifestyle and brings trouble to our content little world, they are likely to receive a fairly laconic and colourful observation or two. If anything therefore, I believe that the anti-Americanism in the movie was played just enough to make the point that it would exist. It probably stopped short of how severe the comments to visiting Americans would have been had they been seen to be involved in the destruction of the world however. It was probably an executive decision for the purposes of international distribution.

In closing I would just like to observe that I am continually surprised by how shocked most Americans seem to be that they are not welcomed as conquering heroes in nations that they consider to be allies. I make no judgements as to whether these receptions are warranted, but merely note that perhaps the domestic American media have failed their citizens in the task of educating them as to the realities of relations with a superpower. The fact is that majority of the world is rather pleased indeed that America is the most powerful nation on Earth. They just wish that it would live up to its own ideals (impossible to reach though they are) more often.