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Tadashi Imai's remake of his own earlier Himeyuri no to, The Eternal Monument, is also known as Himeyuri Lily Tower. The film is set during the bloody American invasion of Okinawa during the waning days of World War II. With fine impartiality, Imai spares no one his disdain: we see incredible brutality on both the American and Japanese sides. Eternal Monument was a major commercial hit in Japan. The less enchanted critics griped that Tadashi Imai used a potent true-life story to indulge in his characteristic dramatic excesses and lapses in taste.