An amnesiac man in search of an identity investigates himself while hopping from one body to another in Yoon Jae-geun’s existential noir
Apr 9, 2022 • Subscribe
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Emergency Declaration (비상선언, Han Jae-rim, 2021)
Passengers on a plane find themselves with nowhere to land after a mad scientist releases a deadly virus in Han Jae-rim’s tense disaster thriller.
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Chorokbam (초록밤, Yoon Seo-jin, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
A small family contend with the persistent unfairness of the contemporary society in Yoon Seo-jin’s slow burn indie drama.


Tomb of the River (강릉, Yoon Young-bin, 2021)
A noble gangster is pulled towards the dark side in an internecine battle with pure evil over a lucrative resort in Yoon Young-bin’s purgatorial gangland drama


Confession (자백, Yoon Jong-seok, 2022)
An accused man and the woman sent to defend him battle over the elusive nature of objective truth in Yoon Jong-seok’s steely psychological thriller.


XX+XY (Lee Soh-Yoon, 2022)
An intersex teenager finds themselves contemplating their identity when courted by opposing suitors in Lee Soh-Yoon’s lighthearted teen drama.


Exhuma (파묘, Jang Jae-hyun, 2024)
The vengeful ghost of Japanese imperialism rises to take its revenge on its forgetful children in Jang Jae-hyun’s eerie supernatural horror.


Hunt (헌트, Lee Jung-jae, 2022)
Two men circle each other in search of an elusive double agent in Lee Jung-jae’s intensely paranoid political thriller.


The Tenants (세입자, Yoon Eun-Kyung, 2023)
An office worker’s plan to sublet his apartment somewhat backfires in Yoon Eun-Kyung’s eerie dystopian drama.


The Swordsman (검객, Choi Jae-hoon, 2020)
A master swordsman is dragged back into the world of courtly intrigue years after renouncing the code of violence when his daughter is taken by slavers in Choi’s…
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Devils (악마들, Kim Jae-hoon, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A detective consumed by thoughts of vengeance suddenly wakes up in the body of the serial killer he’s hunting in Kim Jae-hoon’s twisty thriller.


Kim Min-young of the Report Card (성적표의 김민영, Lee Jae-eun & Lim Ji-sun, 2021)
Former high school friends find themselves at odds over their contradictory life choices in Lee & Lim’s quirky dramedy


Limecrime (라임크라임, Lee Seung-hwan & Yoo Jae-wook, 2020)
Two teens bond through shared love of hip hop but find their connection strained by class differences in Lee & Yoo’s indie coming-of-age drama


Awoke (복지식당, Jung Jae-ik & Seo Tae-soo, 2020)
Disabled after a car accident, a 30-something man finds himself trapped in a kafkaesque battle for recognition after being incorrectly assessed in Jung & Seo’s impassioned drama


A Hometown in Heart (마음의 고향, Yoon Yong-Kyu, 1949)
A lonely boy longing for his mother bonds with a grieving widow in Yoon Yong-Kyu’s tale of oppressive religiosity and the necessity of love
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Mother Land (엄마의 땅: 그리샤와 숲의 주인, Park Jae-beom, 2022) [Fantasia 2023]
A little girl becomes the spiritual defender of her traditional culture in her quest to cure her mother’s mysterious illness in Park Jae-beom’s stop motion fairytale.
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The Killer (더 킬러: 죽어도 되는 아이, Choi Jae-hoon, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
A cynical hitman stumbles on a dark conspiracy when the teenager he’s supposed to be babysitting is kidnapped in Choi Jae-hoon’s retro action thriller.
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Goto-san (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“Gokan expertly reveals the position of the freeter as an attempt to escape the capitalistic machinery but also as a position that most easily falls prey to the…


Summer 2021
Another 3 months gone and I don’t even know where it’s gone TBH. I had a Moot Court this past Monday and it left me emotionally drained and…
The Dungeon of Black Company, Battle Game in 5 Seconds, Scarlet Nexus, Sonny Boy, The aquatope on white sand


Spring 2021!
It’s been about a year now since we’ve all been experiencing (in one way or another) the effects of the global pandemic. I hope that you and yours…


Fall 2021.
Sweater season is upon us! Not really because it’s Spring in Melbourne but somehow still feels like it’s the middle of Winter. I’ve had hail in my area…
The Vampire Dies in No Time, Musashi, Platinum End, VISUAL PRISON, Blue Period


Summer 2021!
Summer 2021 is officially here! So, y’all know the drill.
2021 Retrospective
Here's to another good one, friends. 3:02 - 2021 Recommendations 3:13 - Golden Kamuy 4:15 - Hina Change 5:21 - Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 6:57 - Curtains Up, I'm Off 8:01 - The Bones…
Winter 2021
Hello! How many of us are looking forward to the new year?? I know I am! Winter 2021 feels like a brand new start, granted all our problems…


Spring 2021.
Wanna hear something embarrassing? This post has been sitting, complete and ready to post, in my drafts for over a month now. I just lacked the energy to…
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Sweet Bitter Candy (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“An amazing exploration of the clash between a sweet youthful romantic desire and the bitter urge of a wounded subject to defend his subjective wounds.”
Winter 2021 to Fall 2021 Anime Power Rankings
It's been 2 years since the last one, let's get right into it. Winter 2021 1) Wonder Egg Priority Worth watching for the animation alone. However the ending is chotto... 2) Re:Zero…
Attack on Titan, Lycoris Recoil, ZOMBIE LAND SAGA, Super Cub, Encouragement of Climb
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Follow The Light (2021) review [Fantasia Festival 2021]
The narrative might not offer anything new at a thematical level, but stands out due to his refusal to spell things out and, instead, imply certain subjective truths…
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Seobok (서복, Lee Yong-ju, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A terminally ill former government agent reckons with mortality while bonding with a clone birthed to cure humanity’s ills in Lee Yong-ju’s high concept thriller
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Mari and Mari (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“A beautiful narrative that seems to bear no relation to our romantic life at first, but ultimately hits close to home.”
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Midnight (미드나이트, Kwon Oh-seung, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A deaf woman and her mother become unwitting targets for a sadistic serial killer in Kwon’s extraordinarily tense chase through the darkened streets of Soeul
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Spaghetti Code Love (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“Maruyama’s narrative speaks powerfully to the spectator’s subjectivity – his fears and hopes – and enables his evocation of a glimmer of hope that remains present in this…
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A New Wind Blows (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
A great film that shows that the madness of the male subject is often function of a woman, of a woman that unknowingly puts the by a man…


2021 Anime Roundup
It’s that time of year where everyone posts their best of lists, and while I want to play too, I’ve watched at least 3 episodes of close to…


AnimeJapan 2021 Winners
AnimeJapan 2021 “Manga we want to see animated” Poll winners!!! A short but celebratory post. A quick glance at the announced winners. Source. No surprise, Solo Leveling, Spy…
Fall 2021 Preview
I loved autumn as a school kid because signified a return to school, where I could finally see my friends again after one summer apart. Strange child. I…
Ranking of Kings, The Faraway Paladin, Selection Project, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut, Digimon Ghost Game
Review: Shallow (2021)
Shallow 出拳吧妈妈 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 95 mins. Director: Tang Xiaobai 唐晓白. Rating: 6/10. Despite a few shortcomings in the script, under-rated Mainland actress Tan Zhuo throws herself…
Winter Preview 2021
Ahh winter. Snow; festivities; hectic family get togethers: it truly is the most wonderful time of the year, and while global pandemics (and 2020 in general) may be…
BACK ARROW, Horimiya, The Seven Deadly Sins, WONDER EGG PRIORITY, Dr. STONE


2021 Spring 3
Looks like Slime Taoshite is going to tell us a story. For this last installment we start with Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita,…
To Your Eternity, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won't Lose, SHADOWS HOUSE, I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level


March 2021 Review
You know, I have never been too keen on superheroes. Not much a comics guy, nothing against them, but just never struck my interest. Hell out of the…
Review: 1921 (2021)
1921 1921 China, 2021, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Huang Jianxin 黄建新. Associate director: Zheng Dasheng 郑大圣. Rating: 5/10. Celebration of the centenary of the CPC’s founding is…


Summer 2021 Anime...
My thoughts on Anime in the season of Summer 2021.
IDOLiSH7, IDOLiSH7 Third BEAT!, Peach Boy Riverside, Sasuke, Tokyo Revengers
Best of 2021
Hello everyone, As we move steadily through the new year, John and Jason take a look back at 2021 and talk about their favorite movies.Timestamps:2:23 - Media Consumption15:04 -…
2021 in Review
The world continues to go to hell in a handbasket. The pandemic continues to rage. The world supply chain is borked. Inflation is rampant. W...
Rain Boy, Yawara!, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Super Cub, Horimiya


Underdog (2021) review
“Take’s film powerfully shows that the heroism of the art of boxing lies in the very subjective meaning that power the jabs, the hooks, and the uppercuts.”
Review: Yanagawa (2021)
Yanagawa 漫长的告白 China, 2021, colour, 1.85:1, 112 mins. Director: Zhang Lv 张律. Rating: 3/10. More accessible than most of Zhang Lv’s features, this indie confection is still a…


#MechaMarch 2021 Announcement
Hello everyone, it’s that time ago. In March, it’s going to be time to talk about nothing but mecha on Mecha on Mechanical Anime Reviews for a month.…


Goals for 2021
Last year I set myself twenty goals for 2020 and didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. So, for 2021 I am going to set some more reasonable…


Special - NYAFF 2021
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss the 2021 edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF). For the second year in…