Imagine a climax to the cold war after all the buttons were pressed. Only Australia and the American submarine Sawfish seem to have escaped the subsequent apocalypse, but as the wave of fallout drifts ever closer all know that their fate is sealed. On The Beach is an intriguing hypotheses based on a "what would you do with the time left to you" premise. Rather melodramatic, and, perhaps, naive by the standards of today's cinema, but a brave and thoughtful film for its time.