The Last Harvest

The family farm on the great Canadian plains is condemned, confiscated by the bank, and the Ohamas are celebrating the Japanese harvest ritual for the last time. For the director, this provides the occasion to recount the saga of her family who immigrated at the beginning of the century. She traces the story of Kimi, her grandmother, widowed with nine children and forcibly uprooted during the war when the Canadian government interned Japanese-born citizens following Pearl Harbour. After saving what she could, Kimi managed to buy land and developed it into a large, prosperous farm. More generally, the film touches on the problems of the farmers in Alberta who, overburdened by charges, are witnessing the disappearance of their livelihood and the rural values which forged the Canadian heritage.