Sean Gilman

A film critic in Tacoma, Washington. Bylines at The Criterion Collection, the Mubi Notebook, Frame.land, InReview Online, Seattle Screen Scene and more.

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Xie Jin

The Red Detachment of Women (Xie Jin, 1961/Pan Wenzhan & Fu Jie, 1970)

Japan

Japan Cuts 2023 - Part Two

One of the fun things about a smaller festival like Japan Cuts is that most of the movies playing there are ones I haven’t heard anything about before hand. I’ve got to pick and choose what I watch based on a brief synopsis and a list of filmmakers.

Devils on the Doorstep

Slices of Life - Japan Cuts 2023

Every year these midsummer weeks of late July and early August see the best showcases for East Asian film in North America arrive in New York City and, by the miracle of online screeners, in my inbox. While the New York Asian Film Festival (follow the link to see my

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Soi Cheang

Mad Fate (Soi Cheang, 2023)

Strange Tales

2023 Spring Festival Compilation

As I put together last year, here is a collection of the reviews I wrote for InReview Online's coverage of various film festivals from around the world so far this year. Check out the rest of the festival coverage at the site, they've got a lot

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Xie Jin

Woman Basketball Player No. 5 (Xie Jin, 1957)

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Wong Jing

High Risk (Wong Jing, 1995)

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Sakamoto Yugo

A Janitor and Yellow Dragon's Village (Sakamoto Yugo, 2021)

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Sammo Hung

Heart of Dragon (Sammo Hung, 1985)

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A Better Tomorrow

The Sparring Partner (Ho Cheuk-tin, 2022) and A Guilty Conscience (Jack Ng, 2023)

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Liu Binjie

Mutant Ghost Wargirl (Liu Binjie, 2022)

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Joseph Kuo

The Swordsman of All Swordsmen Trilogy (Joseph Kuo, Chien Lung, Ting Shan-hsi, 1968-1971)

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Zhang Yimou

Full River Red (Zhang Yimou, 2023)

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Jeffrey Lau

Treasure Hunt (Jeffrey Lau, 1994)

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Corey Yuen

Saviour of the Soul I & II (Corey Yuen, David Lai, & Jeffrey Lau, 1991 & 1992)

Daniel Lee

Code of the Assassins (Daniel Lee, 2022)

Code of the Assassins was originally released in China last summer with the English title Song of the Assassins, but now WellGo has renamed it and brought it to the US, streaming and on disc. The title change doesn’t seem to make much of a difference: there isn’t

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Hou Cheng

Pretty Good Stuff: The Shaolin Invincibles and Seven to One (Hou Cheng, 1977 and 1973)

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Yuen Woo-ping

In the Line of Duty IV (Yuen Woo-ping, 1989)

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In the Line of Duty

In the Line of Duty III (Brandy Yuen & Arthur Wong, 1988)

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Wai Ka-fai

Peace Hotel (Wai Ka-fai, 1995)

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Chen Chi-hwa

Red Pirate (Chen Chi-hwa, 1997)

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Stephen Shin

Easy Money (Stephen Shin, 1987)

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Mang Hoi

The Tantana (Mang Hoi, 1991)

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Zhang Yimou

Snipers (Zhang Yimou & Zhang Mo, 2022)

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Hong Sangsoo

In Water (Hong Sangsoo, 2023)