Film
Eternal Summer
A Taiwanese coming-of-age film about three high school friends navigating love, desire and identity during one transformative summer. It's tender and unrushed, moving between moments of joy and quiet heartbreak with genuine tenderness. For anyone who remembers that specific ache of adolescence—wanting something you couldn't quite name, or couldn't have.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you are happy to sit with a slow, quietly aching teen romance where the feelings stay unspoken and the city does much of the talking.
Skip it if you want a plotted story with a clear arc, since this drifts loosely and lingers on mood more than momentum.
What it asks of you: Ninety-six minutes, mostly quiet and unhurried, with the emotions surfacing slowly rather than in big scenes.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Your Name Engraved Herein2020
A Taiwanese romance about two boys who fall in love at a Catholic boarding school in the 1980s. Gorgeously shot, achingly sincere, and it captures that same bittersweet quality of first love against impossible circumstances.
But The ending pivots into historical tragedy in a way that's emotionally devastating rather than cathartic. Some find it crushingly sad rather than moving.
A Moment to Remember2004
A South Korean film about a young couple whose relationship is tested by illness. Like Eternal Summer, it finds profound beauty in small moments and doesn't shy from the pain of loving someone you can't protect.
But It's a genuine tearjerker—not manipulative, but relentless. Goes to dark places many would rather avoid.
Call Me by Your Name2017
Italian summer, two men, desire that blooms slowly and aches quietly. The sensuality and longing are specific and genuine; it understands what it means to want something you're terrified to name.
But The pacing is deliberately languid. If you want plot momentum, you'll find it slow. Also, the age gap bothers some viewers regardless of context.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Eternal Summer
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Better Tomorrow1986
Both use surface genre to explore emotional restraint—what happens when characters can't or won't articulate what they feel.
John Woo's Hong Kong action film about brotherhood, honour and guns. Feels distant from a quiet teen romance until you notice it's actually about the same thing: men unable to say what they feel, communicating through loyalty and sacrifice instead.
But It's a crime thriller with extended shootouts. If you're expecting tenderness, the action will jolt you sideways. Subtitled, and the translation is occasionally clumsy.
More like this (7)
Pose2018
A series set in 1980s New York ballroom culture, following queer and trans youth finding family, love and identity. It has Eternal Summer's core warmth—these characters matter, their connections matter, and joy matters even amid struggle.
But The show occasionally lets theatrical flair overwhelm genuine character moments. Some plot threads feel underdeveloped in favour of spectacle.
Heartstopper2022
A British series about two teen boys falling in love with such genuine sweetness it almost hurts. It understands that adolescent romance can be both silly and profound, and treats it accordingly.
But Its relentless optimism and lack of real friction can feel saccharine if you're looking for something with more bite or moral complexity.
Moonlight2016
Divided into three chapters across a man's life, it's achingly beautiful and formally daring. Like Eternal Summer, it finds depth in what's unspoken, and builds emotional truth through colour and atmosphere rather than exposition.
But Minimal dialogue, maximum ambiguity. If you need plot clarity and emotional statement, it will frustrate you.
Aftersun2022
A father and daughter on holiday in Turkey; a film about love, vulnerability, and what we can't say to each other. Formal, poetic, and quietly devastating in how it captures emotional distance between people who care deeply.
But It's opaque about what's really happening. The emotional core emerges only on reflection, which some experience as withholding rather than artistic.
The Half of It2020
A clever, tender Netflix film about a closeted Chinese-American girl who falls for the girl her best friend loves. It's witty where Eternal Summer is quiet, but it has the same fundamental warmth toward its characters' feelings.
But The resolution feels slightly neat for the emotional complexity it's spent the whole film building. Some neat wrapping where messiness might have been truer.
Beginners2011
A man learns his elderly father is gay and dying; a film about identity, timing, and how late it can be to become yourself. It's unconventional and improvisational where Eternal Summer is more structured, but shares its generosity toward human longing.
But The narrative jumps around in time deliberately, which confuses some viewers. Its tonal shifts—between comedy and grief—can feel uneven.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019
Both films understand that some love is about looking and being looked at rather than action—that presence itself is a form of intimacy.
A French film set in the 18th century: a painter falls in love with her subject. It's about desire, art and connection. Visually sumptuous where Eternal Summer is restrained, but it has identical emotional DNA—longing that can't be resolved, only witnessed.
But Deliberately paced, sometimes to the point of stasis. It's a painting more than a story. If you need narrative propulsion, you'll find it frustrating.
People
Cast
Ray ChangJonathan / Kang Cheng-hsing
Joseph Chang Hsiao-ChuanShane / Yu Shouheng
Kate Yeung KeiCarrie Tu
Directing
- Leste ChenDirector
Writing
- Chi-yao WangNovel
- Dean WangOriginal Story
- Cheng-Ping HsuWriter
Production
- Yang Xu FenCo-Producer
- Leste ChenProducer
- Patrick Mao HuangProducer