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Eternality Tan

Hailing from Singapore & writing about cinema since 2007

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Featured

Lingui, the Sacred Bonds (2021)

June 24, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Nostalghia (1983)

June 23, 2022June 24, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)

June 21, 2022June 21, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Broker (2022)

June 20, 2022June 20, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Remorques (1941)

June 19, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Vie de Jesus, La (1997)

June 18, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Trial of Joan of Arc, The (1962)

June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 by Eternality Tan

I Wish I Knew (2010)

June 14, 2022June 14, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Official Competition (2021)

June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Court (2014)

June 12, 2022June 12, 2022 by Eternality Tan

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Tag / Japan

June 21, 2022June 21, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)

  • Criterion Collection
  • 1970, Japan, Kenji Misumi, Zatoichi
  • Leave a comment

A rare ‘Zatoichi’ entry with not one but two ruthless villains hogging the spotlight, which is a double-edged sword for character development, though it delivers in terms of action.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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April 15, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Sword of Doom, The (1966)

  • Criterion Collection, Others
  • 1966, Japan, Kihachi Okamoto
  • 1 Comment

Uneven storytelling slightly mars this swordplay action-drama classic with one of the most spectacular action climaxes in Japanese cinema.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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April 14, 2022April 14, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Millennium Actress (2001)

  • Kon, Satoshi
  • 2001, Japan, Satoshi Kon
  • 2 Comments

A stunning achievement, Kon’s second feature-length anime is both a tribute to the history of Japanese cinema and the relentless pursuit of love to the ends of the world.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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March 9, 2022April 15, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Samurai Assassin (1965)

  • Others
  • 1965, Japan, Kihachi Okamoto
  • Leave a comment

Could have been a definitive samurai picture if it wasn’t too exposition heavy, but still quite a solid entry by Okamoto-Mifune. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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March 8, 2022June 21, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)

  • Criterion Collection
  • 1970, Japan, Kihachi Okamoto, Zatoichi
  • Leave a comment

The longest entry in the franchise, this excellent 20th instalment pits two Japanese swordfighting icons together as friend and foe, directed with assurance by Kihachi Okamoto.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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December 29, 2021 by Eternality Tan

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)

  • Zhang, Yimou
  • 2005, China, Japan
  • Leave a comment

A mid-2000s departure from his wuxia epics, Zhang’s largely restrained work about an aged Japanese father travelling to China to film a traditional mask opera for his estranged dying son ultimately teeters towards the emotionalism of the director’s earlier melodramas.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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December 23, 2021June 21, 2022 by Eternality Tan

Samaritan Zatoichi (1968)

  • Criterion Collection
  • 1968, Japan, Kenji Misumi, Zatoichi
  • Leave a comment

This 19th installment is a rather straightforward if still serviceable affair, as the guilt-ridden blind swordsman protects a woman from nefarious harm.

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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December 18, 2021December 24, 2021 by Eternality Tan

Wolf Children (2012)

  • Hosoda, Mamoru
  • 2012, Japan, Mamoru Hosoda
  • 1 Comment

This beautiful Japanese animated feature by Hosoda is endearing, but it may feel a bit too lengthy at times.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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December 8, 2021 by Eternality Tan

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021)

  • Hamaguchi, Ryusuke
  • 2021, Japan, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
  • 3 Comments

A triptych of warm-spirited stories forms Hamaguchi’s worldly treatment of the serendipitous, in what is a perceptive work about connections and human relationships.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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December 7, 2021December 18, 2021 by Eternality Tan

Belle (2021)

  • Hosoda, Mamoru
  • 2021, Japan, Mamoru Hosoda
  • 1 Comment

It may sometimes be a sensorial overload, but Hosoda’s invigorating reworking of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ tale, now set in the virtual world of psychometric avatars, largely works and makes a point for the necessity of real human connection.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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