[1] Based around the animation of Chinese artist Daxiong, the film centres on Falun Gong's 2002 hijacking of broadcast television stations in Changchun, and China's continued repression of ethnic and religious minority groups.

[6] Carlos Aguilar of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "distinctively incisive on an emotional level," noting that it "applauds the bravery of its participants to relive a painful shared trauma and create a permanent testament of what they endured.

Loftus’ foresight to include the behind-the-scenes process as part of the story — we see Daxiong working with the animation team and engaging in casual chats with the other subjects — also reinforces the direct link between creator and creation."

Cath Clarke of The Guardian rated Eternal Spring 4 out of 5, describing it as a "painful, important film, made more urgent in light of China’s tightening of religious freedoms and human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims.

She concluded: "Watching these painful, shared memories come to life, seeing up close as the few who made it out are able to pay homage to those who didn’t, it’s hard not to think of all those who continue to be punished for practising their beliefs in China, from the Falun Gong practitioners to the Uyghur Muslims.